Congratulations to our friends at the River Plate Israel Filial who were recently crowned champions of the second annual Torneo de Calcceto a Gerusalemme.

The 5-a-side tournament, organized by the Italian consulate and an AS Roma filial, features clubs from across Israel representing various nationalities and European football clubs.

The River Filial enjoyed a strong group stage where they finished first and made their way to the semifinals against Veterani. They would find themselves down two goals early in the first half, but a strong comeback would give way to 12-4 rout, securing them a spot in the final against Italian side, Netania. No comeback would be necessary this time, as River would go on to win 6-1 to win the championship, capping off a spectacular run in the tournament.

The title is the first ever for the 300-member filial. More remarkable even then their strong on-field performance was the fact that most of the players were over 35 years of age, well above the tournament average.

So to Filial President Martin Yona, congratulations on winning your first ever title and in such dominating form. You are true hinchas de corazón and we are once again proud of your accomplishments and all you do on behalf of our club. You indeed remind us why we are El Mas Grande. Lejos.

Now that you are champions in Israel, is there any way you bring your footballing talents to Buenos Aires? We could certainly use your help.

You can read my original story on the Israel filial here and visit their website.

For los millonarios, Juan Ojeda will begin in goal replacing the departed Juan Pablo Carrizo, and Ariel Ortega will start. Check back later for my take on the match, which you can watch live on TYC Sports, or…

Just when it seemed like the Ariel Ortega saga was behind us, up comes this story from the Dallas Morning News of an audacious bid by MLS side F.C. Dallas to acquire the River Plate idol.

This week, John Ellinger, top assistant to Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman, will travel to Buenos Aires to see players from River Plate, with Ariel Ortega at the top of a wish list of potential signings. The visit will not be the first between the two clubs; Dallas have been in negotiations with River for weeks in hopes of securing a potential partnership between the two teams. Earlier this month River’s Vice President and General Manager were guests of Dallas GM’s Michael Hitchcock at his Texas home, and early reports claim the meeting was a successful one.

So will we be seeing Ortega in a different red and white kit? It seems unlikely. Ortega has declared his peace with Diego Simeone, was recently made captain for the second season in a row, and has stated more than once of his intention to retire with River. But with Dallas announcing they would spend what it takes to find the right player, the scenario is perhaps not that far-fetched. River President Jose Aguilar has been known to sell off players for the right price in the past, and el Burrito himself came very close to joining Estudiantes when it seemed that relations between him and Simeone were beyond repair, contradicting his statement that he would end his career at the Monumental.

Still, it would be tough to see a player in the last days of an illustrious career making the switch to a league like MLS, which, with all due respect, who be a significant drop from La Primera. But if Guillermo Barros Schelotto can transfer his diving skills from Boca to the Columbus Crew, perhaps Ortega, who on his day is still a remarkable player on any lineup, will see MLS as an attractive destination.

Our friends over at the River Plate Israel Filial celebrated what may have been the group’s biggest moment yet in its brief history, when they welcomed none other than Daniel Passarella, River playing and coaching legend, to Tel Aviv last week.

With El Kaiser in town to accept the title of World Ambassador for Peace from the Peres Center for Peace, the first South American to receive such an honor, the filial took this once in a lifetime opportunity to welcome the former Argentina 1978 World Cup Captain, whose name is also part of the group’s official name, as a special guest. Hours prior to his arrival at Tel Aviv’s international airport, over 40 members had already gathered in anticipation of their hero wearing a variety of River kits from over the years, singing chants (“Ole, ole, ole, oleeeeeeeee, Danieeeeeeel, Danieeeeeeel!”), and jumping up and down as though they were back at the Monumental. When at last El Kaiser appeared, they unfurled the offical River Plate filial banner to greet him, and presented to him a flag of Israel the group had signed as a gift.

Later that evening, Passarella was the guest of honor at a group dinner, where a very gracious Daniel spent hours signing autographs, posing for pictures, and regailing the members with stories of the famous 1978 World Cup win, as well as his thoughts on the current state of River.

Aside from accepting his honorary title, Passarella also used the trip to announce his intention to run for club President in 2009, a position currently held by José Aguilar, and promising to prepare for the next election in the same way during his years as player and coach.

Congratulation to the Israel Filial, and many thanks to President Martin Jona for sending me pictures and video of the event.

1. He Stays: Ortega to Remain at River

When I last posted on the behind the scenes drama between Ariel Ortega and Diego Simeone, little did I realize that the situation was going to deteriorate as quickly as it did, or that Ortega, club legend and fan idol, would come so close to jumping ship.

When Simeone benched Ortega for the 19th and final fixture of the regular season against Banfield, el Burrito, clearly miffed at not being able to celebrate one last time with the fans, proclaimed his career with River was over. It was a threat that seemed even more likely when days later, rumors were flying that Ortega would join, of all places, Estudiantes, to play alongside non other than Juan Sebastián Verón, captain of Estudiantes and vocal critic of, who else, Diego Simeone, whom Verón has publicly accused of breaking his promise to leave the La Plata club after winning the 2006 Apertura. But a last minute intervention with club President Jose Aguilar sealed Ortega’s stay at the Monumental, and fears of an irreparable rift between Ortega and Simeone were silenced after the two met last week, with reports that the duo are prepared to put their differences aside for the sake of the team and the upcoming season.

While I think that Simeone made the wrong decision to bench Ortega on the final day of the season (tact aside, Ortega deserved to be recognized by the public after his contributions to the Clausura championship, and the outcome of the game was irrelevant anyway with the title in hand), Ortega’s repeated stance of being unfairly treated simply do not hold. For one, his problems with alcohol are well documented, and as a result have kept the playmaker on the bench for more than one occasion since his return to River. And secondly, he played nearly equal minutes under Simeone as he did under Daniel Passarella, his mentor, when he was previously managing the team.

What remains to be seen is whether Simeone and Ortega can see past their differences to focus on the tasks at hand in 2009: to beat Boca, to win the league, and to claim the club’s first ever Copa Sudamericana. With neither player nor manager bigger than the shirt, both will need to set their egos aside to repeat as Champions.

2. He Goes: Abreu Leaves for Israel

Much was expected when the veteran goal-scorer arrived last winter, with an impressive career both at the club and international level. But despite his 7 goals in the Copa Libertadores, Sebastián Abreu’s luck in the league was not as successful, with the striker managing only 2 goals the entire season, and repeatedly the target of jeers and whistles from the home crowd. So it was little surprise when the Uruguayan national decided to try his luck in Europe with Beitar Jerusalem, last year’s champions of Israel, and automatic entrant into the second qualifying round of the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League.

I certainly directed my rage at Abreu more than once during the season, and his criticisms by press and fans alike were warranted by his lack of speed and predictability. But his performance had as much to do with Simeone’s ever-changing lineup and tactics, and his intended role of basically heading down balls to Radamel Falcao and Diego Buonanotte never really took off, especially in a land where the 4-3-1-2 is typically the norm.

Still, el Loco was always a gentlemen and I never doubted his desire to win. While acknowledging the jeers from the home crowd, he never turned on them or made excuses (something “better” players like Juan Pablo Carrizo and Oscar Ahumada failed to do), and was never greedy, as the few goals he did score were always celebrated with the rest of his teammates. Had his penalty in the match against San Lorenzo in the Copa Libertadores held, he could have continued his run in the Copa with perhaps better results. But it was not to be, so el Loco leaves with one more title to add to his list of accomplishments, and will now seek dreams of glory in Europe and the Champions League. I wish him the best of luck.

3. 19 to 34: Fixture List revealed.

The 2008 Apertura season will begin August 10th when River will travel to Santa Fe to face Colón. River have been given the added bonus of hosting 4 of the top five teams at home, with only Independiente to face away. The flip side of course means that in next year’s Clausura, the reverse will be true. The Superclásico will be held October 19th. One interesting note will be the 19th and final fixture December 14th away to Estudiantes, which could just be a title decider. You can read the full fixture list here.

NOTES: As expected, both Juan Pablo Carrizo and Alexis Sánchez have completed their loan spells and returned to Italy to rejoin Lazio and Udinese, respectively. … Diego Buonanotte will be the lone River representative at this year’s Olympic games, joining former player Javier Mascherano on Sergio Batista’s 18-man roster.

Not a week has passed since River triumphantly wrapped up its 33rd league title, but a controversy already seems to be brewing, and it involve no less that the squad’s most beloved player, Ariel Ortega, recently awarded a 2-year extension. But what should be a happy day for the River captain is instead causing a rift behind the scenes.

With the title in hand, and one more fixture next Sunday away to Banfield to end the Clausura, el Burrito, who has long had a very public struggle with alcoholism, missed practice yet again this past Thursday in another unfortunate relapse. According to reports from within the club, coach Diego Simeone was clearly upset over the absence, referring to it as a “lack of responsibility.” Simeone has shown his displeasure with Ortega over the season, most notably by not starting him for a stretch of games during the second half of the Clausura, which was met with a roar of outrage from the fans.

So yesterday’s decision by River President José María Aguilar to extend Ortega’s contract with the club until 2011, effectively signing the idol until the end of his career, and met with approval by the vast majority of the River faithful, must have come as a slap to the face to Simeone, who must see this as an afront to his role as manager.

And so River faces it’s first big question of the off-season: will Simeone, who has received offers to coach in Spain and whose own contract comes to an end in Decemeber, see this extension as reason to leave the club? It’s clear that neither Simeone nor Aguilar want to be known as the bad guy who let Ortega leave. River fans, have we have seen this season, are a fickle bunch, and neither Aguilar, an unpopular and sometimes hated President, nor Simeone, by no means a fan favorite despite delivering the club’s first trophy in 4 years, want to be saddled with the task. But Simeone must feel as though his role at the club is being comprimised; if Aguilar is making deals regardless of Simeone’s input behind his back, such off-field distractions could hurt the team for the upcoming Apertura and Copa Sudamericana campaigns.

Then there is Ortega himself, as we said, a River legend, who has proven his standing as a top football player and one who bleeds the shirt. But tough questions must be asked of his current health issues, and whether they are affecting his performance and the team’s as a whole. Yes, he had a major role in our title-winning season, and since his return in 2006, he has had some memorable performances, from this highlight-reel goal during a 5-0 thrashing of San Lorenzo in 2006, to his memorable display against Boca in the Superclásico in 2007, where his grace with the ball came to be called, “el baile,” or the dance. Yet for all of those brilliant moments, he has also continued to struggle with this alcoholism, and has missed several games in the process. With one of the questions regarding River’s average play the past few seasons supposedly based on the lack of a true leader, to have one’s captain consistently miss so many games and practices is cause for concern, and the reports this season of several players voicing their displeasure to Simeone behind the scenes showed that.

What does seem clear is that this move by Aguilar to essentially give el Burrito carte blanche at River is less a tactical manuever then a blatant attempt to appease the River fans who could have easily turned on the President had he let Ortega go. Now, Aguilar is being perceived as the man who let Ortega stay. But the fact that he did so by essentially pulling rank over Simeone shows a huge lack of character and respect.

Should Ortega remain at River? Does he have a place in Simeone’s plans? At 34 years, he is not the player he once was, but he can still play at the level of the competetive Primera, and his experience is invaluable to those around him. But one has to expect that such saddening and heartbreaking absences like the one seen this past week will not be going away anytime soon, and like it or not, fans should be worried, first and foremost for the health and safety of one of the great ambassadors of the game, but also for the welfare of the team. With questions surrounding many of the current starting XI, who will leave, who will stay, and who the club will bring in, it remains to be seen whether this contract extension will drive the wedge further into an already fragile situation, or whether one player should be put ahead of an entire team and it’s coach.

Even if that player is an idolo like Ariel Ortega.

Many thanks to Martin Yona (first row, 3rd from right), President of the River Plate Israel Filial, who recently forwarded these videos and photos of the group’s previous reunion, celebrating not only the 107th anniversary of the club’s founding, but also the birthday of Daniel Passarella, whose name the group uses as part of its official title.

On May 24th, the filial organized the Caravana Tierra Santa Monumental; cars decorated with River flags and balloons made their way to the Parque Jabotinsky in the city of Binyamina, where they were met by 40 filial members for an asado, and to sing Happy Birthday to Passarella in Spanish and Hebrew. El Kaiser himself sent this video below, thanking the filial and calling them, “hinchas de River de corazón.”

Also below is a picture of the filial’s official flag, which was present at the Monumental in March during the 0-0 draw against Racing, at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

For more information on the filial, please read my previous post on the groups origins, visit their official website, or join the Facebook group.

River Plate celebrated 107 years as the biggest club in Argentina, and one of the most important clubs in all the world football, today, the 25th of May.

During that time, the club has amassed 32 League titles, 2 Copa Libertadores, one World title, and has grown from a small club whose origins began in the Boca barrio of Buenos Aires, to one of the world’s sports great sporting organizations, with a fan base millions strong. Our home stadium, the Monumental, also celebrated its 70th anniversary today as well.

Feliz Cumpleaños Campeon. 107 Años Más De Gloria.

The most important fixture in all of South America is only hours away, when our beloved River Plate will attempt to defeat hated Boca Juniors at the Bombonera, in a match you can watch live on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports Español at 2PM ET.

Not only is pride at stake, but with the 2-1 loss of Estudiantes at the hands of Argentinos Juniors last night, River have an amazing opportunity to take sole possession of 1st place. While a loss would still keep us tied for first with Estudiantes, a win would give us 30 points, and more importantly, give us some distance from San Lorenzo, Independiente, and Boca, who are all hot on our tails.

I make no predictions when it comes to Boca. Recent history favors los millonarios; since 2004, the last year River won the league, we’ve held Boca to a 4-1-3 record, and are unbeaten in the last 5 meetings. Under Diego Simeone, River have been much improved since the beginning of the season, but our defense continues to leak goals. Boca meanwhile, have not exactly shined in the league this year, but at home with a potent offense of Riquelme, Palacio, and Palermo, River will need to be be perfect to gain the 3 points we desperately need.

The above picture is from the last Superclásico, when behind Ariel Ortega’s brilliant performance at the Monumental, River won 2-0. However, during that troubled season, River did not have much else to celebrate; this year, the title is almost ours, and we are still alive in the Copa.

So brace yourself for what I hope will be a brilliant game, free of violence, and hopefully full of attacking football that we are used to seeing in Argentina. And of course, I hope that when the referee blows his whistle after 90 minutes, we can all scream, RIVER PLATE, EL MAS GRANDE!

With their 1-0 win to Tigre this past Sunday, River Plate now sit atop the Clausura table with 24 points, and only 9 more games stand between them and their first league title since 2004. Despite playing a football that has ranged from unimaginative to maddeningly bad, new coach Diego Simeone has somehow managed to lead his team to a 7-3-0 record, and so far have conceded only 2 goals.

It’s that last statistic that is most amazing. After leading the league last season with 33 goals against, two more than their own offense scored, it’s a completely different story in this Clausura, all the while still having a shaky back line. Offensively the team aren’t quite as improved, totaling only 12 goals on the season, and having played out their previous 3 matches to rather dull 1-0 victories.

Still, there have been plenty of positives. Diego Buonanotte looks to finally be maturing into the star player we’ve only glimpsed at. Alexis Sánchez is a fan favorite, with chorus’s of “Chileeeeeeeno” raining down from the stands nearly every time he plays. Cristian Villagra, who struggled all last season, seems to have regained his confidence and has looked solid at fullback. And if there is an MVP candidate, it has to be keeper Juan Pablo Carrizo, the player most responsible for River’s current lead.

After managing to not lose against strong teams like Newell’s, Estudiantes, Lanus, Velez, and Racing, los millonarios enter the second half with a much more forgiving schedule, and with all the pressure on Estudiantes and Boca, their nearest rivals in the table. But the next 6 fixtures will be crucial for River, and will need to accrue as many points as they can to widen the gap. Beginning this weekend, they’ll be away to Rosario Central, home to Argentinos Juniors, away to Boca in the Superclásico, home to Gimnasia, away to Independiente, then home to Huracan.

Estudiantes, currently in 2nd place with 23 points, will face in the same time period, Tigre, Rosario Central, Argentinos, Boca, Gimnasia in the La Plata clásico, and Independiente. But even better news is the road that Boca have ahead of them. They have to get though Newell’s, San Lorenzo, River, Estudiantes, Racing, and Vélez. It’s a tough schedule for any team, and Boca hasn’t necessarily shined this season.

But football is not played on paper as we all know, and there’s nothing to suggest that River won’t just get shellacked from an unlikely source in the next few weeks. Who’s to say we won’t go to Rosario this weekend and lose 3-0? Could the team find it within them to regroup and come back strong? Will the injuries and yellow card suspensions leave the already shaky squad even thinner?

Regardless, there’s serious reason to believe that River could be making the vuelta olimpica in the Monumental come the end of the season. If they can continue on their current run, especially over the next 6 weeks, then we can finally do what every River fan across the world wishes when the first ball is kicked every season, to scream at the top of our lungs, River CAMPEON!