Lléo
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So, as you were all wondering today who would be the Euro's last
semifinalist, on this side of the Atlantic an old hero of the tournament was
successfully finishing an inglorious uphill battle with his hometown club.
The Argentinian second division (Primera B Nacional) came to a close this
sunday. Top two teams directly promoted, 3rd and 4th placed ones go to a
playoff against the top division's 17th and 18th placed ones. Before this
round, the table was:
River Plate 70
Instituto 70
-------------------
Quilmes 69
Rosario Central 69
(5th place too far down to reach them)
...so it was basically a matter of deciding who would go up directly and who
would have to face the dreaded Promoción playoff.
In the end, the automatically promoted teams were the ones that faced what I
have just nicknamed the "Brown Brothers". With two goals by David Trezeguet
(who, 12 years ago, was scoring France's Euro 2000 title winning goal),
River Plate beat Almirante Brown 2-0 at El Monumental, thus securing its
return to the first division and the title of Primera B Nacional. Quilmes
was away to Guillermo Brown and also won 0-2. Their happiness was the other
side of a coin that meant disaster for Instituto, from Córdoba: having
hovered around the top two spots of the table for most of the championship,
and now depending only on themselves to secure automatic promotion, maybe
even the title, they lost 0-3 at home to Ferro Carril Oeste, who sleepwalks
in midtable mediocrity, with nothing to play for. Rosario Central also
disappointed, losing 3-2 away to already relegated Desamparados.
But it is Instituto who have the most reasons to regret, as their choke job
has rewarded them with a playoff against San Lorenzo, another one of
Argentina's Big Five who is currently undergoing a serious crisis. Rosario
Central, for its part, will have to face San Martín in the other playoff.
So, I guess it's "welcome back" to River Plate, and "good luck" to San
Lorenzo. As for Instituto, nothing against them, but here's another team
tasting how cruel football's ways can be.
--
Lléo