While claiming to not be completely abandoning his unpopular and as yet unproven 3-3-3-1 formation, Diego Simeone will instead start a 4-2-3-1. Returning to the starting lineup will be Radamel Falcao, who came on on as sub last Saturday, and Paulo Ferrari, who didn’t play at all. You can catch the match live on Fox Sports Español at 7pm ET. Should River win tonight they will “clinch” their second Torneo “title” in a row.

River Lineup:
Carrizo
Ferrari, Cabral, Nasuti, Villagra;
Ahumada, Abelairas
Rosales, Falcao, Ortega
Abreu

In other news, Marcelo Gallardo officially joined D.C. United today as a designated player. For you D.C. fans, remember it’s Ga-shar-do if you want to get the proper castellano pronunciation. … Finally, a recent study from the University Clinic of Munich Grosshadern claims to have found a link between heart problems and football. During the 2006 World Cup, researchers noticed a rise in heart related problems, including irregular heart beats and even heart attacks, amongst fans due to the emotional stress suffered at games. For those of you in California, maybe this can help calm you down. It might just save your life.

Well that didn’t take long.

After posting last night about the need for Marco Ruben to move to another country after not living up to expectations, River have sold the young forward to Spanish side Villareal in a deal worth 7 million dollars.

Ruben, surprisingly named yesterday to Argentina’s 18 man roster ahead of Olympic qualifying, had also been linked to fellow Spanish club Deportivo La Coruña, but Villareal’s offer, which also guarantees River 15% of any future sale, was simply too good to pass up.

Purchased along with Juan Ojeda and Cristian Villagra from Rosario Central in 2006, Ruben scored 7 goals in 36 games played for la banda, and struggled to make it to the starting lineup. I wish him the best of luck in Spain and I hope to see him play next month in Los Angeles.

EDIT: Thanks to Golazo for pointing out earlier that I had incorrectly written Valencia instead of Villareal. I did know it was Villareal but for some reason wrote Valencia instead. One of those days I guess.

All in all, this is a strong squad, and is a testament to the quality and depth of Argentine football. Should be a great match.

Full 18 Man Roster:

Goal Keepers: Oscar Ustari (Getafe, Spain), Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar, Holland).

Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta (Espanyol), Ezequiel Garay (Racing de Santander), Federico Fazio (Sevilla, Spain), Martín Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Cristian Ansaldi (Rubin Kasan).

Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Ever Banega (Valencia), José Sosa (Bayern Munich), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Damián Escudero (Vélez Sársfield), Juan Román Riquelme (Boca Juniors)

Forwards: Gonzalo Higuaín (Real Madrid), Sergio Agüero (Atlético de Madrid), Angel Di María (Benfica), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Nápoli,), Marco Ruben (River Plate).

Reports from Argentina and Goal.com are claiming that Marcelo Gallardo, former River captain and Argentine international, could be on his way to MLS.

San Lorenzo was known to be in the running for the midfielder, currently languishing at PSG, a move which would have been a major coup for former River coach Ramón Díaz. However, according to Gallardo’s agent Juan Berros, San Lorenzo’s offer was not as lucrative as MLS’, and a deal could be announced by week’s end.

So where could El Muñeco wind up playing? I don’t know, but whatever side gets him will become my new B team. Gallardo is one of my all-time favorite River players, and the opportunity to see him play again would be unbelievable. He was always regarded by me as a consummate professional and a born leader on the pitch, and River hasn’t really been able to fill the void left after his move to Europe. D.C. United have to be considered front-runners, given the fact that they lost out on Juan Sebastián Verón and with their history of scouting players from South America, but don’t count out the New York Red Bulls, whose new coach Juan Carlos Osorio is said to be scouting in Colombia and Argentina.

Here’s a video I took two years ago at the Monumental, when River defeated Rosario Central 2-0, thanks in part to this penalty, converted by Gallardo.

Also, if you haven’t heard the news, Argentina will face Guatemala in an international friendly that will take place at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum on February 6th. The match is designed as a warm-up for Argentina’s 2008 Olympic campaign, so expect to see an albiceleste side comprised of young European talent along the lines of Agüero and Paletta. I’ll be posting more information on that as soon as it becomes available; be sure to check out the Argentina World Cup Blog for more.

Unfortunately, there’ll most likely not be any current River players getting the call-up from Under 23 coach Sergio Batista, but expect to see former stars Martín Demichelis and Javier Mascherano.

The best competition in world football begins this week, and if you think I’m talking about the Copa Sudamericana, this is NOT the post for you. The UEFA Champions League kicks off on Tuesday, and as you can see below, several former players who have passed through the Monumental are set to appear. I’ve highlighted the matches below in which former millonarios are on the squad; for the full fixture list, make sure to check out the CL blog on The Offside.

Tuesday

Porto: Luis “Lucho” González, Ernesto “Tecla” Farías
Liverpool: Javier Mascherano

The Future Stars of Chelsea host the Former Stars of Spain. There are 3 gallinas between both teams here, and with Tecla coming in as a second half sub in Porto’s 1-0 victory over Maritimo this past weekend, it’s possible that all 3 could be on the pitch at the same time.

Real Madrid: Javier Saviola, Gonzalo “Pipita” Higuaín
Werder Bremen

Easily the game of the week. Unless recent history repeats itself, Madrid are clear favorites to win this year; at worst they have to be considered semifinalists. Even better for them, both Saviola and Higuaín scored in Madrid’s 3-1 win over Almeria on Saturday (Pipita’s was a beauty, you can watch both here). To make things worse for Bremen, Madrid also have rising star Wesley Sneijder. And Ruud. And Robinho. And Robben…

Olympiacos: Cristian Ledesma
Lazio

I honestly don’t follow either team, but I do know Ledesma could use a change a pace after blemishing his resume with his time at San Lorenzo de Amargo. Olympiacos, by the way, have also been linked with current River defender Cristian Nasuti.

Shakhtar Donetsk
Celtic

As you can see there is no River connection so far as I can tell, but we should all be rooting for Celtic. From what I understand, some Celtic fans formed a friendship with us after we played Rangers in a friendly a few years back in the States. And, who wouldn’t want to root against a team that has Nery Castillo on it?

Wednesday

Barcelona
Lyon

Again, no River connection, but I’m all for Lyon here. Sure, they may have beaten us in the Peace Cup, but Barcelona treated Saviola worse than a wet rag, so let’s hope they get stuffed.

Fenerbahçe
Inter Milan: Julio Cruz, Hernán Crespo, Esteban Cambiasso, Santiago Solari, Nelson “Tyson” Rivas

Enough said. Although with all due respect to Inter, it wasn’t like they had the most difficult time qualifying last year.

Who do I think will win the Cup? It’s too early to tell which G14 team will go all the way, but if I had to choose one, I would say Real Madrid, with Liverpool, unfortunately, right behind them.

La Marca is reporting that Javier Saviola has already signed with Real Madrid. Since having joined Barcelona in 2001, El Conejo has struggled to become a permanent fixture with the Catalan giants, and his days there are reportedly numbered. He didn’t even make the bench this past weekend for the Espanyol clasico.

Until this becomes official, I imagine we’ll be hearing more rumors like this, but what do you think? Here’s hoping the Barca fans won’t throw any pigs heads at him.