At the moment there are few words to explain the emotional low to high of yesterday's match. Starting the match in the direct relegation, San Lorenzo, at home, needed to win again Newell's Old Boys of Rosario - a team at the other side of the table fighting for first place. Few other clubs can claim to have 30 000 supporters when their team sits in the lower middle-half of the table and fighting relegation; the anticipation in the stadium was palpable. Newell's first goal was a deep cut into the spirit of the nearly sold out Nuevo Gasómetro. The second caused hundreds, more likely thousands, of fans to break down into tears. Those who weren't crying were left to sardonic and sarcastic comments about their upcoming chance to 'see Argentina' - a reference to the travelling to the remote teams in the Nacional B tournament. During the 15 minutes between halves it was the only defence for many against the deep depression of facing three more and final matches in the Primera.
What happened next has been described as a 'miracle' and is worth seeing the full 10 minutes of highlights:
Vindication started for the player worthy of a large share of the first half scorn; Emmanuel Gigliotti had been eating up goal scoring chances, unable to put the ball into the back of the net or run more than 10m to win it back. But for every 45 minutes of playing as a 'burro' (mule), he manages to be a striker for an all important moment. He finished with the all important first and third goals.
Carruso, the technical director for San Lorenzo, made the necessary changes during the second-half bringing on "Pipi" Romagnoli - already a Ciclón legend from 2001 and starting on the bench because of a ongoing injury - and Carlos Bueno, the Urguayan striker for defender Alvarado. Buffarini - the ongoing savoir and stadium favourite of San Lorenzo in this tournament - was dropped back into right defence but with the determination to play anywhere on the pitch that gave his team the advantage. Running up the wing, it was Buffarini's perfectly placed cross that led to San Lorenzo's second all important goal off the head of "Charlie Good".
Gigliotti's third goal seemed to come out of the force-of-will of the thousands of supporters jumping and singing in the popular section. An explosive rupture in the tension marked by "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL" followed; I must have been one of the few within the 30 000 incapable of reacting spontaneously with a river of tears. Friends and complete strangers everywhere, except the completely silent visitor section, were huddled in euphoric embraces, and in some cases precariously tumbling piles of bodies - fear and caution not being emotions worthy of the moment. In the final 8 minutes, the united hinchada of the Butteler sang with every ounce of voice left, only becoming silent minutes after the final whistle when its thousands of vocal chords and emotional highs finally gave out. Even after the gates were opened for the local side, many could not or did not want to leave the stadium, some were still in tears 20 minutes after the match.
San Lorenzo has not been 'saved' - the religious language appropriate for a such-named team of 'suffering' - and has yet to play direct rivals in the fight against relegation: Tigre away in two weeks. A difficult match, politically and footballistically, and without Buffarini, out on five yellow cards. For now, San Lorenzo is living in a miracle but three matches remain. Everyone is as important as a cup final.
28.5.12
12.5.12
Autumn in Buenos Aires: San Lorenzo and Carrefour
Autumn has arrived in Buenos Aires and the clearest sign is the number of sweaters and scarves that the Porteños are wearing. Mid-day today I was the only person walking around in short sleeves - 16 degrees and quite pleasant in the sun. My Canadian reaction to autumn is "enjoy it, it's not too cold after all" for an Argentinian it seems to be: "brace yourself, it might get really cold". At this rate, Argentinians are going to wearing Arctic parkas for 5 degrees above zero.
Coming winter also means the looming end of the Clausura tournament. San Lorenzo is sitting two points above near-top of the table Tigre and direct relegation to the Primera B. Of the remaining six matches, San Lorenzo needs to win at least four - and hope that Tigre struggles fails in at least two of their matches. Just to avoid direct relegation. Right now San Lorenzo is sitting in the third last spot of the promedios while sitting in the middle of the table, the Argentine-way of deciding which teams are the worst. The promedio is the ranking the average of points-per-game of each team over the last three seasons in the Primera A. San Lorenzo's greatest difficulty is that the two teams directly above, Rafaela and San Martin, have only had one season in the A. The mathematicians among us could explain better, but the result is that each three-point win for Rafaela and San Martin is more valuable. Tigre, thankfully, has had three seasons in the A and could create history by being the first team to win the league while directly descending to the B. It is a suitable reality for football in Argentina, where something is broken if it makes sense.
Today San Lorenzo is playing Olimpo of Bahia Blanca. The yellow and blacks are sitting at the bottom of the promedios and the table; guaranteed to be spending next year in the B. After some work, the Nuevo Gasómetro will be ready to host a night match. Two weeks ago, San Lorenzo needed to host Arsenal in the middle of the day because the stadium lights had yet to be fixed following the damaging storm. Enough of the lights will be working, hopefully, tonight for a 8 o'clock kick off. And yes I'm expecting to feel the cold.
While the Nuevo Gasómetro remains 'a work in progress', and I'm not talking about the completed stands and new roof promised by current club president Carlos Abdo, the march for the 'vuelta a Boedo' and the return to the Viejo Gasómetro hit a stumbling block. A week ago Wednesday, without much of their own publicity, Carrefour opened their Av. La Plata store. The French company has been working on the site for over a year putting a new roof - one that must be mentioned appears to be easily removed in pieces - on the building.
The group behind the Legislation of Historical Restitution and the marches for the Vuelta a Boedo has been organizing a few gatherings in front of the Carrefour; I was there a week ago Wednesday when they had opened. We were about six to ten persons (San Lorenzo was playing in the Copa Argentina at the time), equal to the number of military police sent to watch over us. Carrefour avoided any promotion of the opening and in the end very few people tried to shop, a few senior citizens from close by, parents picking up their children after school, and a few cars were all that passed us by to calls of "¡Complice! ¡Militar! ¡Sangre!". All references to the military dictatorship, which forced and profited from the sale of the Gasómetro. I should say, at times I wasn't too comfortable with things that things people from San Lorenzo were shouting. Racism is everywhere and football supporters in Argentina are trained from a young age to associate the release of anger to discriminatory language. "Bolivianos, Paraguayos, Peruanos" are used as insults because immigration from surrounding countries, much like in Canada and the US, has supplied cheap labour in Argentina. Any person with darker skin entering Carrefour was labelled as from a neighbouring country and told to "Go back to your country!" Not really the things I'd like to hear or support, but reflective of a much more complicated reality within Argentine society.
Today hinchas began protesting in front of the Carrefour at 10 in the morning. Later on, I'll be part of the procession from the "Tierra Santa" to the Nuevo Gasómetro 30 blocks away for the evening match against Olimpo. Carrefour is likely to suffer hundreds of football hinchas at its front gates for every local San Lorenzo match for the rest of the season.
Autumn is in full swing; the metaphor of transition is an ominous one for San Lorenzo - both in the relegation fight and with Carrefour. But if they make the best of it, win a couple of matches and keep the pressure on the city and Carrefour, maybe winter will arrive without too much trouble.
Coming winter also means the looming end of the Clausura tournament. San Lorenzo is sitting two points above near-top of the table Tigre and direct relegation to the Primera B. Of the remaining six matches, San Lorenzo needs to win at least four - and hope that Tigre struggles fails in at least two of their matches. Just to avoid direct relegation. Right now San Lorenzo is sitting in the third last spot of the promedios while sitting in the middle of the table, the Argentine-way of deciding which teams are the worst. The promedio is the ranking the average of points-per-game of each team over the last three seasons in the Primera A. San Lorenzo's greatest difficulty is that the two teams directly above, Rafaela and San Martin, have only had one season in the A. The mathematicians among us could explain better, but the result is that each three-point win for Rafaela and San Martin is more valuable. Tigre, thankfully, has had three seasons in the A and could create history by being the first team to win the league while directly descending to the B. It is a suitable reality for football in Argentina, where something is broken if it makes sense.
Today San Lorenzo is playing Olimpo of Bahia Blanca. The yellow and blacks are sitting at the bottom of the promedios and the table; guaranteed to be spending next year in the B. After some work, the Nuevo Gasómetro will be ready to host a night match. Two weeks ago, San Lorenzo needed to host Arsenal in the middle of the day because the stadium lights had yet to be fixed following the damaging storm. Enough of the lights will be working, hopefully, tonight for a 8 o'clock kick off. And yes I'm expecting to feel the cold.
While the Nuevo Gasómetro remains 'a work in progress', and I'm not talking about the completed stands and new roof promised by current club president Carlos Abdo, the march for the 'vuelta a Boedo' and the return to the Viejo Gasómetro hit a stumbling block. A week ago Wednesday, without much of their own publicity, Carrefour opened their Av. La Plata store. The French company has been working on the site for over a year putting a new roof - one that must be mentioned appears to be easily removed in pieces - on the building.
The group behind the Legislation of Historical Restitution and the marches for the Vuelta a Boedo has been organizing a few gatherings in front of the Carrefour; I was there a week ago Wednesday when they had opened. We were about six to ten persons (San Lorenzo was playing in the Copa Argentina at the time), equal to the number of military police sent to watch over us. Carrefour avoided any promotion of the opening and in the end very few people tried to shop, a few senior citizens from close by, parents picking up their children after school, and a few cars were all that passed us by to calls of "¡Complice! ¡Militar! ¡Sangre!". All references to the military dictatorship, which forced and profited from the sale of the Gasómetro. I should say, at times I wasn't too comfortable with things that things people from San Lorenzo were shouting. Racism is everywhere and football supporters in Argentina are trained from a young age to associate the release of anger to discriminatory language. "Bolivianos, Paraguayos, Peruanos" are used as insults because immigration from surrounding countries, much like in Canada and the US, has supplied cheap labour in Argentina. Any person with darker skin entering Carrefour was labelled as from a neighbouring country and told to "Go back to your country!" Not really the things I'd like to hear or support, but reflective of a much more complicated reality within Argentine society.
Today hinchas began protesting in front of the Carrefour at 10 in the morning. Later on, I'll be part of the procession from the "Tierra Santa" to the Nuevo Gasómetro 30 blocks away for the evening match against Olimpo. Carrefour is likely to suffer hundreds of football hinchas at its front gates for every local San Lorenzo match for the rest of the season.
Autumn is in full swing; the metaphor of transition is an ominous one for San Lorenzo - both in the relegation fight and with Carrefour. But if they make the best of it, win a couple of matches and keep the pressure on the city and Carrefour, maybe winter will arrive without too much trouble.
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