Torneo Apertura: Round 4
Boca Juniors' impressive start to the Torneo Apertura continued this week with a comprehensive 7-1 thrashing of sorry San Lorenzo, with man of the match Palermo netting a hat-trick. The scoring began in the 22nd minute of the match, with Palacio putting the away side ahead, followed soon after by Palermo's first goal of the match. By half time, Boca were 3-0 up, guaranteeing their 4th win from the first 4 matches. Palacio added another shortly after half time, with Cardozo getting Boca's fifth on 53 minutes. San Lorenzo pulled one back through Hirsig 5 minues later, but by that time the outcome of the match was beyond any doubt. A late strike by Franzoia, followed by Palermo's third 3 minutes from time saw San Lorenzo well and truly beaten, and Boca maintaining their 100% record this season. Meanwhile, city rivals River Plate enjoyed a 2-0 win over struggling Argentinos Juniors, with Higuain getting both goals at El Monumental. At the other end of the table, Colon's woeful start continued with their 4th successive defeat at the hands of Gimnasia LP, the side from Santa Fe still waiting to pick up their first point of the season. The matches between Velez and Arsenal, Godoy Cruz and Gimnasia Juyuy, and Newell's and Racing all finished goalless while Rosario beat Lanus 2-1 to pick up their first win of the season, new-comers Nueva Chicago won 2-1 at home to Quilmes, and Independiente moved into second place with a 2-1 win over Banfield.
It seems there will be South American involvement in the World Cup final after all, with FIFA announcing that Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo will take charge of Sunday's match between Italy and France. The 42-year-old physical education teacher, who also refereed the opening match between Germany and Costa Rica, tipped the favourites Markus Merk and Lubos Michel. He will be remembered by many for his involvement in the quarter-final between England and Portugal, in which he caused controversy among English supporters by sending-off star player Wayne Rooney for an alleged stamp on Ricardo Carvalho. The final will be his 5th match of the tournament. Meanwhile, Japanese official Kamikawa will take charge of Saturday's thrid-place match between Germany and Portugal in Stuttgart.
With the exit of Portugal at the hands of France, the last glimmer of hope for an entertaining final disappeared. This dire match was a poor advert for world football, played out to a welcome finish by two poor teams. Niether France nor Portugal deserve a place in the semi-final let alone the final itself. While France have not one single entertaining player in their squad, Portugal at least have one man who can lighten up a dull game. For all his theatrical dives and attempts to con the referee, there is no doubting the talent of Cristiano Ronaldo. He is truly fascinating to watch, and has the abillity to turn a game on its head with just one darting run. The behaviour of the Portuguese team has been deplorable and highly unprofessional, not only last night against France but also in previous matches. However, they are at least capable of producing a decent match, unlike the French, who scraped through the group stage and whose lack-lustre performances throughout the entire tournament have certainly succeeded in sending me to sleep to dream of Brazil. So possibly the worst semi-final in the history of this great sporting event ended in victory for the French, and suddenly the third-place play-off seems far more attractive than a final between two teams who do not deserve to be there. If I was a betting man, I would put money on the final consisting of 120 minutes of tedious, defensive football played at a snails pace followed by the inevitable penalty shoot-out. The group stages of this tournament looked promising, with the vast majority of games being interesting to watch. Things have got worse and worse from there though, with the knock-out phases being hugely disappointing, verging on the dismal. And so, Saturday will see the end of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and not before time. Roll on South Africa 2010.
