Buonanotte hurt in fatal car crash

The 21-year-old Buonanotte, a member of Argentina's 2008 Olympic gold medal squad, and his friends were returning in pouring rain from a night out dancing near his home town of Teodolina when their car hit a tree.

The diminutive attacking midfielder was spending the end of year holidays in Teodolina in Santa Fe province and was due to return to his club in Buenos Aires for pre-championship training on January 2.

European and Mexican clubs have shown interest in Buonanotte but the new River Plate chairman, former captain and coach Daniel Passarella who was elected earlier this month, has urged him to stay to help the team out of one of their worst slumps.