Weekend rounds ups will be taking the form of Team of the Week this season, but donâÂÂt go thinking that itâÂÂll make it a love-in with the great and the good âÂÂthe weekends winners and, where necessary, losers, will feature in equal measure. And donâÂÂt expect tactical orthodoxy every week...
Round 1: (3-4-1-2)
GK: Javier GarcÃÂa (Boca Juniors)
Having spent millions of pesos both in this recent close season and the one before that, Boca were declared title favourites going into the Clausura. Losing 4-1 at home on day one hasnâÂÂt totally derailed that ambition, but certainly doesnâÂÂt feature in the script either. GarcÃÂaâÂÂs howler with 13 minutes on the clock allowed Godoy Cruz to score the first. He repeated the mistake minutes later, but that goal was ruled out for offside. He still went on to concede three more. Ouch.
LCB: Juan Manuel DÃÂaz (River Plate)
River fielded a side against Tigre dressed up as a 3-4-2-1, that was in reality a 5-2-2-1, and that in terms of playersâ mentality was essentially a 7-0-2-1. DÃÂaz fulfilled his role on the left with the adequate level of attacking ambition, which is to say very little, but what about that a handball in the area in the closing minutes? Hmmm?
CB: Rolando Schiavi (NewellâÂÂs Old Boys)
Getting tapped up by your former club hours â not days, hours â before starting the new campaign understandably unsettles a player trying to tune in for the big kick off. BocaâÂÂs advances may explain Rolo SchiaviâÂÂs opening half an hour against Estudiantes, which culminated in a tug on the shirt and the resultant penalty. Fortunately for El Flaco, âÂÂLa Gataâ Fernandez failed from 12 yards.
RCB: Gabriel Mercado (Estudiantes)
A strikerâÂÂs finish from the Pincha right back, after just 23 minutes, doubled the championâÂÂs lead against NewellâÂÂs. The rout that looked on the cards didnâÂÂt materialise, and MercadoâÂÂs goal ended up separating the two.
CM: Néstor Ortigoza (San Lorenzo)
Hunched, hyperactive, bossy and with pinpoint accuracy on 60 metre passes⦠Ortigoza is a superb mdifielder. Perhaps in Europe he wouldnâÂÂt be such a standout player⦠but heâÂÂs not playing in Europe. In Argentina, he is one of the best midfielders around and he put in another top class performance this weekend, this time on his debut for San Lorenzo.
CM: Hugo Barrientos (All Boys)
Mala leche. Bad milk. That was the verdict on All Boysâ midfielder performance after his treatment of Gio Moreno. Together with the incident when his elbow opening up Rubén RamÃÂrezâ face just a couple of months ago, Barrientos is not flavour of the month over Argentina.
LM: David Vega (Olimpo)
Wayne Who? Ok, not quite, but VegaâÂÂs rocket for OlimpoâÂÂs equaliser, and which put them on the way to taking all the points, was the goal of the weekend (twelve seconds into the below video).
RM: Enzo Perez (Estudiantes)
One of Alex SabellaâÂÂs last actions as Estudiantes coach was to refuse Perez permission to go and play for Argentina in midweek. As a result, Toto Berizzo, SabellaâÂÂs replacement, now owes his predecessor a drink or four after the midfielderâÂÂs display. Enzo, meanwhile, neednâÂÂt worry about his international career â another call up wonâÂÂt take long in coming.
AM: Mauro Camoranesi (Lanús)
The Italian World Cup winnerâÂÂs first contribution to his new team was to commit the foul that allowed Arsenal to level the match via a brilliant freekick. He more than made up for it, though, with a delightful chipped pass to set up the GranateâÂÂs second against Arsenal.
CF: Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Gimnasia)
âÂÂOf course it was a penaltyâ said The Twin, running away from his interviewer to avoid breaking into a complicit grin in full view of the camera. Melli won, in every sense of the word, the penalty that earned his side a valuable point. Yes, he went down easily, but MatÃÂas Gimenez should have though twice about putting his foot in when he had no hope of getting anywhere near the ball.
CF: Bichi Fuertes (Colón)
38 years young, Bichi had a stroke of luck with his first goal from the set piece as it took an enormous deflection on the way through. The second was as text book a set piece as they come, curling it through the space left by his team mate in the Quilmes wall.
Coach: Jorge Da Silva (Godoy Cruz) As coaching debuts go, winning 4-1 away at the Bombonera is up there with the best of them.
RESULTS Independiente 2-2 Vélez, Estudiantes 2-1 NewellâÂÂs, Olimpo 2-1 Banfield, San Lorenzo 1-1 Gimnasia, Colón 2-0 Quilmes, All Boys 0-1 Racing, Boca 1-4 Godoy Cruz, Tigre 0-0 River, Lanús 3âÂÂ1 Arsenal, Huracán 1-1 Argentinos.
