Argentina: River Plate To Sell Buonanotte or Falcao In January

River Plate coach in waiting Néstor Gorosito has confirmed that the club will be forced to sell either Diego Buonanotte or Radamel Falcao Garcia in January in order to balance the books.

Gorosito will inherit a River side that finished bottom of the Apertura tournament when he takes over at the turn of the year, and will face further problems with the news that he is likely to lose at least one of his two most prominent players in the winter transfer window.

Buonanotte was River's sole shining light during their dismal Apertura campaign and the twenty year old, impish attacking midfielder is sure to attract interest from European clubs in January, with Napoli thought to be among his suitors.

Colombian striker Falcao has previously been linked with Tottenham Hotspur and River would have no problems offloading the 22 year old should they need to do so, such is his pedigree in front of goal.

"Falcao or Buonanotte will leave," Gorosito told reporters on Monday, although he also indicated that he hopes to bring in his own attacker and possibly a midfielder, with Internacional's Pablo Guiñazú heavily linked with a move to El Monumental.

Differing Fortunes for Super Clasico Hero and Villain

From the moment the final whistle blew to conclude last Sunday's Super Clasico between River Plate and Boca Juniors, the Argentine media have focused on two players: Diego Buonanotte of River Plate and Ever Banega of Boca Juniors; the hero and the villain of the piece.

Buonanotte has been widely praised for his excellent performance in the game, with many expecting the youngster to become a fixture in the 'Number 10' position, replacing the great Ariel Ortega. His manager Daniel Passarella has sung his praises, describing him as "very small, bold and not scared of anything". Those who witnessed the Super Clasico will find it hard to disagree.

One particular moment in the match, which typified Buonanotte's performance, was when he completely humiliated Boca Juniors winger Nery Cardozo with a cheeky nutmeg up against the touchline. This moment has drawn comparisons with the skill that Juan Riquelme used to flummox River defender Mario Yepes back in 2000, but Buonanotte has himself admitted that "the skill of Riquelme was better than mine". Whether it was or not is largely immaterial, as it is a moment that many will look back on as the point at which a star was born, in much the same way as Riquelme seven years previously.

On the other side of the coin, Ever Banega has endured a torrid week, having been sent off for two bookable offences just before half time in last Sunday's game, essentially ruling out the chance of a Boca comeback. His manager Miguel Angel Russo identified Banega's sending off as the key point of the game in post-match interviews, leading the 19 year old to become somewhat of a scapegoat for an anemic Boca performance.

Banega has responded by saying, "I am small, I am 19 years old and I am learning my craft. I commit errors like all the boys". Considering the success he has had in his short career up to this point, there is no doubt that Banega will come back a stronger player from this incident and will learn to avoid the rash challenges that are one of few weak points of his game. He seems to have handled the media pressure admirably and although it may take Boca fans a couple of game to warm to him again, his future is still very bright.

Although they have been the hero and villain of this story, it would not be at all surprising to see Banega and Buonanotte dominating opposition teams in Argentina's midfield for the 2014 World Cup. Both of them definitely have the potential to do so.

Videos:

Buonanotte nutmegs Cardozo


Riquelme nutmegs Yepes

Argentina Torneo Apertura Round 13 Results

Gimnasia de Jujuy 2 - 0 Huracan
Banfield 3 - 1 Colon de Santa Fe
Olimpo Bahia Blanca 2 - 1 San Martin San Juan
Racing Avellaneda 2 - 2 Rosario Central
Velez Sarsfield 1 - 1 CA Tigre
San Lorenzo 1 - 1 Gimnasia La Plata
River Plate 2 - 0 Boca Juniors
Newell's Old Boys 2 - 1 Independiente
Estudiantes 3 -0 Argentinos Juniors
Arsenal de Sarandi 0 - 1 Lanus

River Plate triumphed in the Super Clasico against Boca Juniors, dominating the game from start to finish. Boca were unable to deal with the attacking triple threat of Radamel Falcao and Ariel Ortega up front and teenage sensation Diego Buonanotte in the playmaker position.

Falcao fired in the first from a Fernando Belluschi pass, seconds after hitting the bar with a powerful header. Ten minutes before half time, Buonanotte was fouled in the area by Gabriel Paletta, and Ortega stepped up to covert a re-taken penalty.

Any chance that Boca had of coming back into the match was scuppered just before half time, when Ever Banega was sent off for his second bookable offence after taking out River right back Paulo Ferrari.

River strolled to victory in the second half, with Buonanotte a constant threat to the Boca defence. River seem to have unearthed a real gem, with Buonanotte already receiving the 'next Maradona' tag in the Argentine media. He would be advised to have a word with teammate Ortega, who himself had to live with the same tag for much of his early career and should have some much needed advice for the youngster. If protected correctly, Buonanotte certainly looks like he has the potential to be a world class player.

The only consolation for Boca on an otherwise miserable day, was that Independiente failed to take advantage in the battle at the top of the table, as they went down 2-1 to Newell's Old Boys. The gap therefore remains at two points going into the international break.