Argentine season suffers miserable start
Brian Homewood
Economic recession, poverty-stricken clubs and the national team's poor performance meant that expectations were low when Argentine domestic football resumed at the weekend.
And so far, the new season has gone even worse than feared.
Half the weekend's first division games ended in goalless draws, fan violence once again left its ugly mark and one of the few top players not to have gone into exile succumbed to a knee injury as the Apertura championship got under way.
The only bright spot has been the return of Osvaldo Ardiles.
The former midfielder, a member of the Argentina side that won the 1978 World Cup, made a winning start as coach of Racing Club who beat Huracan 3-1.
Elsewhere, it was a depressing story.
The opening round of 10 first division games produced a paltry 10 goals between them, with five matches finishing in goalless stalemates.
GOALLESS DRAWS
Defending champions River Plate, held at home by Newell's Old Boys, and Boca Juniors, the country's most popular club who draw at Nueva Chicagao, were among the teams involved in 0-0 draws.
Both were clearly struggling to overcome the absence of top players who moved abroad at the end of last season.
River have lost the services of Argentine international forward Ariel Ortega, who has joined Turkish club Fenerbahce, and Boca are lamenting the departure of their world-class midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme, who has moved to Spanish giants Barcelona.
Riquelme, who had been reluctant to leave his country, changed his mind after his brother was kidnapped for 24 hours earlier this year and his family received threats following the release.
In their absence, River Plate's teenage striker Fernando Cavenaghi, who finished as the previous championship's top scorer with 15 goals, had been one of the sources of hope -- but even he is now out of action.
Cavenaghi went down with a knee injury in River's opening game and is expected to be sidelined for six weeks after undergoing surgery.
To add insult to injury, two fans on their way to the River Newell's game in Buenos Aires suffered bullet wounds in yet another clash between rival supporters.
One of the fans was later discharged from hospital while the other was reported to be out of danger but the incident will not have done the sport any good.
UNPAID WAGES
Four people have been killed in soccer-related violence this year in Argentina and the government has already threatened to suspend professional soccer unless the situation improves.
Argentina's worst-ever economic crisis could also throw a spanner in the works.
Players -- some of whom are believed to live in near poverty -- twice went on strike last year in protest at unpaid wages and the situation has certainly not improved since then.
Clubs continue to live in financial straits, with huge debts and falling revenue.
In a sign of the times, both Boca and River were mere spectators on Wednesday as the Libertadores Cup final -- the South American equivalent of Europe's Champions League -- took place between Sao Caetano of Brazil and Olimpia of Paraguay.
In fact, not a single Argentine club progressed beyond the quarter-finals of a competition they used to dominate.
With the violence and financial problems both taking their toll, the main question would seem to be not so much about who will win the title but whether the championship itself will be completed.
