Weekend in Review

A lot of things to review from the past weekend...

Premiership

The big event was the Manchester derby at Old Trafford, where both United and City wore blank throwback jerseys in honor of the 1958 Munich air disaster that killed the Busby Babes as well as several Manchester journalists, including an ex City player. The crowd was cooperative and respectful, remaining quiet for the full 60 seconds of the observed moment of silence (this is only noteworthy because Sir Alex had begged City fans to stay silent as though they were a real threat to whoop and holler during the silence...perhaps they were). United were clearly efftected by the emotional gravity of the occasion, and were outplayed by City, who defended and countered to perfection, eventually earning a 2-0 lead before the break that would never really be in danger (Carrick's injury time goal in the 2nd made the result appear closer than it was).

And Arsenal capitalized. A 2-0 home win vs Blackburn Rovers saw the Gunners move 5 points clear of United in the title race. The talk all season has been about how United are superior to the youthful Arsenal, about how Arsenal's hot start could not last, and how ultimately they would succumb to the pressure of the long season and the sheer force that is United. Well, we are still waiting to see if the pundits' predictions will come through. Arsenal still have to travel to Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford, but with their current form in the league, assuming that points will be dropped would not be a smart idea. Arsenal have the makeup of a young side that knows exactly what it's doing. They are executing their stylish brand of football and capitalizing on one of the great goal-scoring runs in recent memory in Emmanuel Adebayor. Their midfield when fully healthy, is the deepest and most technically adroit unit in all of Europe, and now their back line is re-enforced with the return of Kolo Toure. United still might catch them, but at this point, there's a lot less skepticism being bandied about rgearding these Gunners.

Argentine Clausura

The Argentine second season got underway as well, with last season's Apertura winners Lanus getting off to the start they wanted, earning a 1-0 win. River Plate also got a nice three point start to their Clausura campaign, and look to finally reclaim their rightful place at the top of the league under new coach Diego Simeone, who only a year and a half ago won the Apertura title with Estudiantes La Plata. Boca Juniors conceded a wonderful late goal at Rosario Central, and were forced to head back to Buenos Aires with only a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw.

The Argentine league looks to continue its recent run as "most competitive league in the world," or at least to continue to earn mention in that conversation. It may sound surprising or ridiculous to some, but it is not inaccurate to say that Argentina's domestic competition is the most top-to-bottom league in the world. Not the best competition, or the best teams, but the most truly competitive. Formerly a shared monarchy between Boca and River, the Apertura and Clausura titles in recent years have proven genuinely up for grabs. The fact that the most recent three champions (Lanus, San Lorenzo, Estudiantes) are not names Boca or River is testament to how deep the league is. Last season, newly promoted Tigre challenged Lanus all the way for the title. Giants Independiente and Racing are back on the upswing. It is clear that with so much homegrown talent in the world's current top ranked nation, Argentina is able to produce stars everywhere, at almost every club. What is more amazing is that the superstars, of which there are many, constantly emigrate to Europe to play for the world's biggest and richest clubs in Italy, Spain, and England. Unlike Brazil, who loses stars abroad and doesn't replicate them quickly or efficiently in the domestic product, Argentina's clubs don't seem to truly suffer from an exodus of top talent, because there's always new talent coming in right behind them. With this infrastructure in place, it's no wonder Argentina currently enjoys status as Fifa's # 1 in the world. Now if they could just go and prove it with another World Cup...

(Now if they could just beat Brazil....)