The last edition warned readers to expect the unexpected in the Liga Profesional de Fútbol play-offs, and they certainly have not disappointed on that front. Who could have seen Boca Juniors folding at home to nine-man Huracán? Mighty Independiente Rivadavia upset in Mendoza at the hands of Unión? Racing actually managing to win a game – and against Estudiantes no less, in La Plata? Or San Lorenzo somehow grasping defeat from the jaws of victory having led River Plate for almost the entire game and in penalties with a man less on the field (okay, that one might be more plausible)?
This competition is barely giving us time to catch our breath. The semi-finals are already upon us this weekend with the promise of more memorable games and, with Estudiantes de la Plata gone, an eventual new champion ready to take their next step on the path to glory. The final four are a mixed group of familiar faces and surprise packages, but perhaps the most compelling story in this title race belongs to Belgrano.
El Pirata are the only team among the quarter not to have lifted a league crown in their history to date. They are gunning to become the first side from outside Buenos Aires City and Province to win the league since Newell’s Old Boys in 2013 – for the purposes of this exercise we are not counting Rosario Central’s weird ‘win’ last year, so Canallas feel free to write in with your abuse – and the first team based outside Argentina’s traditional footballing powerbase of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe to ever lift the title in the Primera División’s 135-year history. To do so, Belgrano are banking on two club idols who have returned with the dream of making the seemingly impossible happen.
Franco Vázquez may have lost a step or two from his first spell in Barrio Alberdi, but every time he takes possession the memories come flooding back. ‘El Mudo’ was the young star of Belgrano’s 2010-2011 Nacional B promotion campaign which culminated in that unforgettable playoff win over River, forming a lethal partnership up front with César ‘Picante’ Pereyra. He had little time to enjoy Primera football, moving to Palermo in December 2011 to continue a highly successful career that took in spells with Rayo, Sevilla and Parma and the remarkable distinction of being capped by both the Italy and Argentina national teams.
Vázquez returned to Belgrano to great fanfare in January and while at 37 some of his old dynamism and thrust has fallen by the wayside, he has been an excellent option off the bench for his boyhood club anchoring the midfield, typified by his pinpoint pass to assist Ramiro Hernandes as the Pirata downed Unión in Tuesday’s quarter clash.
In a neat twist of fate, Vázquez replaced his spiritual successor in Córdoba. Lucas Zelarayan has had quite the career himself. A teenage sensation who debuted in 2012, just after El Mudo’s exit, the number 10 lit up Belgrano for four seasons and went on to star in Mexico and the US, winning titles either side of the Río Grande. When he decided to come back to Argentina in the winter of 2025, as he said, he had no shortage of options. “I heard of interest from River, Boca and Racing, my agent always mentioned it to me,” he explained to TyC Sports. “I thanked them, but I always had the intention of going back to Belgrano.”
The Grandes’ loss was Belgrano’s gain. Zelarayan has been at his dazzling best throughout 2026, contributing four goals and an assist as the club, who missed both playoff competitions last year, finished fifth in Group B of the Apertura. He and Vázquez have been ably assisted by a squad of unsung grafters, like veteran ex-Independiente and São Paulo winger Emiliano Rigoni (another former Pirata youngster who returned home) and striker Lucas Passerini, who was in the thick of things in a heated derby against Talleres in the last 16, scoring a goal ruled out for offside, assisting Francisco González’s winner and then seeing red as he dragged his feet walking off the pitch, one of three red cards showed on the afternoon as the Córdoba rivals almost descended into open warfare.
Belgrano have the homegrown heroes. They have the grizzled coach on the bench, Ricardo Zielinski, another hero of 2011. They have a club president in Luis Artime (son of the Argentina ex-forward) who oozes charisma and passion. And they have the momentum after two huge wins, one over none other than their eternal nemesis. The stars appear to be aligning for the club as they look to do what no side from the vast ‘interior’ has ever done, and show up the big guns of Buenos Aires by taking home.
Next up, Argentinos Juniors in the cauldron of Barrio Alberdi: and if Belgrano’s luck holds Vázquez, Zelarayán and tens of thousands of Cordobeses will be gearing up for a once-in-a-lifetime final – played in Córdoba’s own Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, no less. Hang the Jolly Roger: this pirate ship is sailing in precisely the right direction.
Comments