Argentina: Boca Take Apertura Crown Despite Defeat

Boca Juniors were crowned Argentine Apertura 2008 champions on Tuesday night, despite going down to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Tigre.

As the three-team playoff for the Apertura came to its conclusion, Tigre knew that they needed to win by two clear goals to overhaul a Riquelme-less Boca and take the title, with San Lorenzo already out of running.

Diego Cagna's team gave it their best shot and took the lead with just over twenty minutes remaining after a terrible mistake from Boca goalkeeper Javier Garcia allowed Leandro Lazzaro to profit.

Garcia had also been at fault from San Lorenzo's goal at the weekend, and was promptly substituted by Boca coach Carlos Ischia, who was clearly keen to avoid the young goalkeeper costing his side the title.

Despite concerted pressure from Tigre in the remaining minutes, and the late sending off of Rodrigo Palacio, Boca were able to hang on, taking the Apertura crown on goal difference to record their 23rd Argentine championship.

"We put in a lot of effort in these last six months, and we have to enjoy it. We worked hard today, like we have all year round, but it was worth it to reach our objective," midfielder Sebastian Battaglia told reporters after the game.

The title triumph comes at the end of a difficult campaign for Boca, who have had to deal with the death of their president Pedro Pompilio and a number of injuries to key players.

"It was a horrible season for us," experienced full-back Hugo Ibarra noted.

"We experienced a lot of injuries, as well as the death of Pedro. We dedicate this championship to his family and memory."

The title represents coach Carlos Ischia's first in charge of Boca, and he looks set to be rewarded with a new contract, according to reports in the Argentine press. He will, however, have Carlos Bianchi - Boca's most successful coach - placed above him in a technical director role in time for the 2009 Clausura.

Argentina: San Lorenzo Defeat Tigre In First Game Of Title Playoff

San Lorenzo drew first blood in the triangular tournament that will decide the winners of the Argentine Apertura 2008 with a 2-1 victory against Tigre on Wednesday evening.

Miguel Angel Russo's side began the game in the fine form, building a two goal lead for themselves inside the opening twenty-five minutes through strikes from Pablo Barrientos and Gonzalo Bergessio.

Their dominance continued into the opening exchanges of the second half, with Santiago Hirsig missing a guilt-edged chance to put Tigre firmly out of site when he blazed over after Santiago Solari had slid him through on goal.

The home side were struggling to get a foothold in the game, but got just the breakthrough they were looking for when Sebastian Rusculleda crossed perfectly for Leandro Lazzaro to head home with just under quarter of an hour remaining.

Diego Cagna's team were, however, unable to put the San Lorenzo goal under any concerted pressure in the final minutes, and ended the game with ten men after goalkeeper Daniel Islas was dimissed for an off the ball incident with Barrientos.

San Lorenzo's victory means that they can seal the Apertura title with a win over Boca Juniors in the second game of the mini-tournament on Saturday.

If they fail to do so, then they will have to wait on the result of the final game between Boca and Tigre on Tuesday before discovering whether or not the title is theirs.

Argentina: Boca, San Lorenzo and Tigre To Playoff For Title After Final Day Victories

Boca Juniors, San Lorenzo and Tigre will play a mini-tournament to determine the winner of the 2008 Apertura after all three teams won their final day fixtures to finish level on 39 points at the end of the regular campaign.

Boca raced into an early 3-0 lead against Colon at the Bombenera through a double strike from Luciano Figueroa and another from Juan Roman Riquelme inside the opening half an hour.

However, Colon were determined not to lie down to their hosts and produced a spirited fightback as goals either side of half-time from Nicolas Torres and Lucas Valdemarin reduced Boca's lead to one with forty-odd minutes left to play.

Carlos Ischia's side were able to shake off their momentary nervousness to regain control as the half wore on, and finished the match in the ascendency, spurred on by the rampant support of the Boca faithful.

San Lorenzo endured a slightly more techy ending to their game away to Argentinos Juniors. Goalkeeper Agustin Orion was forced to make two good saves in the closing minutes, allowing Miguel Angel Russo's side to maintain the one goal lead they had held since Gonzalo Bergessio's 7th minute opener.

Tigre had been the first side to confirm their three points on the final day as Martin Morel's 14th goal of the campaign took them to a 1-0 victory over Banfield, in a game that finished a minute before San Lorenzo's and ten before Boca's.

Lanus had begun the day as a outside bet to take the title, but with the top three all winning, their 1-0 win over San Martin proved fruitless, as they finished two points off the leading trio in fourth.

The AFA will now be tasked with arranging a triangular tournament to decide the Apertura winners, with matches likely to take place in the eleven days between now and Christmas.

At the other end of the table, River Plate finished bottom of the league for the first time in their history following a 1-1 draw away to Estudiantes on Saturday.

Argentina: Three Way Tie At The Top With One Round To Play

San Lorenzo, Tigre and Boca Juniors will go into the final weekend of the Argentine Apertura level on points at the top of the table after Boca were held to a goalless draw by Gimnasia La Plata on Sunday.

The solitary point for the Xeneize gave their two title rivals the perfect opportunity to draw level, and both took full advantage, although with dramatically differing levels of comfort.

Tigre coach Diego Cagna must have been kissing his side's title ambitions goodbye when they went two goals down inside the opening quarter of an hour away to Rosario Central. However, his side defied convention to produce a remarkable comeback as a Carlos Luna double saw them pull level by half-time and Leandro Lazzaro then added a third in the second half to seal the three points.

San Lorenzo had a much smoother ride as they crushed Independiente 4-1 at the Pedro Bidegain in Sunday's late kickoff. Pablo Barrientos scored twice, while Santiago Solari and Gaston Aguirre got one apiece in a superb display from Miguel Angel Russo's side that sees them lead the way on goal difference ahead of the concluding round of games.

Lanus kept their dim hopes of taking the Apertura crown alive with a 2-0 win away to coachless Velez Sarsfield on Friday evening, but will need a miracle on the final day if they are to leapfrog all three of the main contenders from two points adrift.

River Plate's terrible campaign continued with a 2-1 defeat at home to Godoy Cruz that sees Los Millonairos rooted to the bottom of the table, while Nestor Gorosito - rumoured to be taking over at River come the Clausura - steered his Argentinos Juniors side to a 2-2 draw away to Banfield.