Apertura 2008: Colon 1 – 1 River Plate

By: Christian | August 12th, 2008

Colon 1 - 1 River Plate

The current champions of Argentina began their title defense in less than convincing style this past Sunday, earning a 1-1 draw away to Colón de Santa Fe to kick off the 2008 Apertura.

After the loss of Juan Pablo Carrizo leading the defense in front of goal, and missing the creativity of Alexis Sanchez and Diego Buonanotte (currently at the Beijing Olympics), los millonarios showed that there is still much work that needs to be done for the upcoming campaign, and coupled with the loss of the recently departed Ariel Ortega, the team looks unsettled. Diego Simeone started this season with yet another change in tactics, using a 3-4-2-1, with newcomer Robert Flores and Mauro Rosales playing behind Radamel Falcao up top, and Juan Ojeda starting in goal.

But River were never much of a threat in the first half, and it was Colon who would have most of the best chances, finally grabbing the game’s first goal in the 39th minute. River would rebound almost right away in the second half when Robert Flores scored his first goal in a River jersey in the 54th minute, but aside from that could muster up little else. Colon came very close to going ahead in the late minutes, but a hit off the crossbar and a superb save by Ojeda would preserve the point.

While it is understandable that the squad might still be in a state of flux given some of the off-season dramas, the loss of certain key players from last year’s championship winning squad, and the addition of new transfers, can Simeone nonetheless put together a side that will contend for hardware? Clearly the most troubling issue at the moment is the forward situation; the Rosales-Flores-Falcao did not exactly impress, and Rosales especially did not make a strong case in my opinion of being ready to be a 90 minute starter. And depending on how far Argentina advance in the Olympics, River may have to make due without the services of one of their brightest young players, Buonanotte.

On the plus side, Ojeda looked good in his return to starting keeper, the 3 man defense appeared capable, particularly Leo Ponzio, and Robert Flores scoring in his debut has seen his stock rise. Clearly there is still work to be done, so let’s hope that this draw will give way to more wins. Next Sunday, River debut at home against Rosario Central.

2008 Apertura Fixture 1
Colon 1 – 1 River Plate

Scoring Summary:
Alejandro Capurro (Colon) 39th
Robert Flores (RP) 54th

River Plate:
Juan Marcelo Ojeda
Gustavo Cabral, Leonardo Ponzio, Eduardo Tuzzio (captain)
Paulo Ferrari, Oscar Ahumada, Matías Abelairas, Cristian Villagra
Mauro Rosales, Robert Flores
Radamel Falcao

Substitutions:
Diego Barrado for Villagra, 45th
Gustavo Bou for Flores, 56th
Martín Galmarini for Ferrari, 72nd