One moment, Ángel Di María was being feted by a packed Gigante del Arroyito and wheeling off in delight as his homecoming looked set to be capped by a dramatic late winner. The next, he was being removed from the field in obvious pain after a crunching tackle on his left foot, powerless to stop Godoy Cruz wrecking the party as they grabbed a draw from Rosario Central.
Thus ever was Argentine football: there is no respect for rank around the Liga Profesional de Fútbol, and even World Cup winners with extremely distinguished careers are not exempt from getting their bones rattled from time to time. And Di María would not have it any other way.
“It was a stamp right there on the bone, but it's fine, it's all good,” the ex-Benfica winger explained after the game to calm the nerves of anxious Canallas. “It's always the same, Argentine football is like that. We wanted to give the fans some joy, start the tournament and season on a good footing, but we couldn't. We didn't lose, which is important too, we got a point, we have to look forward to the next one.”
Di María's rapturous return to Central was one of the highlights of the Clausura's opening weekend.
Much of the controversy this time round came from Avellaneda, where Racing suffered that cruellest of VAR fates: scoring what appeared to be a last-minute winner, only to see referee Nicolás Lamolina peer into the little pitchside box and decide the move had started after Barracas Central should have been given a penalty. To twist the knife even further Racing's goalscorer Adrián Martínez was the one adjudged to have conceded the kick with a clumsy attempted clearance in his own box.
Coach Gustavo Costas was sent off for his overzealous protests and Rodrigo Insúa, son of Barracas coach Rubén, was on hand to convert the kick and give his team a shock win. Not an ideal start for Racing by any means, but better news was to follow in the week as 'Maravilla' Martínez signed a lucrative contract extension to end any further talk of his following Maxi Salas to River, the deal including a release clause worth a staggering US$122 million to scare off any prying eyes from Núñez.
Salas, meanwhile, was announcing himself in the best possible fashion to his new fans. The forward had a dream River debut, scoring to put his side ahead against reigning champions Platense and almost adding another late on while generally terrorising the Calamar defence as the Millonario opened their season with an accomplished 3-1 win. He chose to pay tribute to a legendary Salas of River teams past, Chile idol Marcelo, in his celebrations, and if Maxi gets anywhere near that kind of level Marcelo Gallardo's men will be a handful indeed this year.
River at least left a better impression than their arch-rivals off the first weekend, as Boca were held to a soporific draw by Argentinos Juniors: star signing Leandro Paredes cannot arrive fast enough for a Xeneize team still trying to work out exactly what it is playing at.
The other two members of the 'Big Five' played out a pair of very entertaining matches. San Lorenzo continued to show that they are never more dangerous than when wounded and all but counted out as the Cuervo dispatched Talleres 2-1 in Córdoba, a fine start after an off-season which saw them lose both coach Miguel Ángel Russo and ace Iker Muniain, who chose a coaching job in the Spanish fifth tier over another six months in Bajo Flores. Independiente, meanwhile, showed a fair bit of rust but also strong resolve in coming back twice from behind to grab a draw against Sarmiento.
Perhaps the best story of the weekend, though came out of Mendoza, where Newell's Old Boys found themselves with a goalkeeping predicament: basically, they didn't have any, with Keylor Navas sidelined in the middle of his own transfer saga. Veteran striker Darío Benedetto was assigned substitute keeping duties on the Newell's bench, meaning that if anything occurred to Navas' deputy Williams Barlesina the ex-Boca and Argentina man would be pulling on the gloves.
Fortunately for Newell's, and unfortunately for curious neutrals everywhere, Benedetto's services were not required, and the Lepra continued the upward trajectory they embarked on halfway through the Apertura with the arrival of coach Cristian Fabbiani with a 2-1 win over Independiente Rivadavia.
Argentine football, as Di María so sagely noted, is like that; sometimes it's tough to watch but it's rarely dull, and the Clausura is off to a very encouraging start.
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