Tears For Tigre – Boca Juniors Crowned Champions Of Argentina

As the referee sounded the final whistle in Avellaneda and brought a close to this most dramatic of finales, the trivial consequences of Tigre’s 1-0 win became clear in the most soul-destroying, crushing of all circumstances for those associated with El Matador.

The Boca fans packed into the right hand side of Racing’s stadium burst into fits of uncontrollable joy, barking out songs of praise for their heroes and howling taunts at their staunch rivals River Plate, embarrassingly condemned to bottom of the league and having to look on humbly whilst their enemies lift a crown that was previously theirs.

On the opposite end of the ground the Tigre fans were stunned into devastated silence. They won the game. They finished joint top of the league. They beat Boca Juniors twice over the course of the campaign. But in the end it meant nothing.

It was the bitterest of all pills to swallow for Diego Cagna’s men. They battled valiantly and defied both odds and critics time after time in this thrilling race for the Apertura. Challenging for major trophies is expected of San Lorenzo and Boca. Not so Tigre.

Nobody watching that final game of the triangular could fail to have been drawn in by its pulsating last few minutes. Tigre led by a goal to nil courtesy of Leandro Lazzaro’s towering header in the 68th minute and from that moment on the spectacle paced breathlessly towards its exciting climax with all the suspense and drama of a high budget box-office thriller. The endgame was clear. Tigre had twenty minutes in which to find another goal and claim their first ever league title. Boca could stick or twist, either hang onto a 1-0 defeat or try to nick the goal that would finish off El Matador for good. All the rest of us could do was sit there nervously and watch the cliff-hanger unfold.

Smelling blood, Cagna threw caution to the wind and put three upfront. Boca coach Carlos Ischia responded by taking off his keeper Javier Garcia, who in not sufficiently commanding his area was deemed at fault for the goal. In his place entered debutant Josue Ayala. What a time to make a debut. The substitution was met by confusion and anxious silence from the Boca fans. Was he injured? Garcia left the pitch almost in tears.

In retrospect Boca’s nervy few minutes after the substitution were probably Tigre’s best chance to grab a second goal, but Cagna’s red-and-blue warriors seemed to merely run out of ideas. Martin Morel, for so long a Victoria shining light this season, faded into the night, anonymous when his magic was needed most. The effervescent spark that had carried Tigre this far began to run out. And though they continued to scurry and press in search of a winner it eventually proved elusive, with the referee’s final whistle bringing an end to El Matador’s dreams, realising instead those of the elated Boca faithful.

In the aftermath of what was a spectacular finale to the championship, it is hard not to feel sorry for Tigre. It is also hard to avoid addressing certain questions to the Argentine Football Association, namely regarding how they determine league winners in the event of a tie. Boca ended up winning the title because of their superior goal difference in the triangular. All three teams registered 3 points, but as the Xeneize managed an extra goal in that 3-1 win over San Lorenzo, they claim the trophy by a +1 goal difference.

Is it really fair to judge the league winners on the goal difference of a three-way playoff? If the authorities had ruled that in the event of a tie goal difference over the course of the whole season decides things, San Lorenzo would have been crowned champions. Alternatively, if they had deemed that a tie in the triangular means head-to-head records over the season are used to determine the champions Tigre would have won the league, having beaten both San Lorenzo and Boca (twice). To judge it on the goal difference taken from a play-off involving only two games for each team seems an unjust way to settle it.

That is not to detract from Boca’s achievement. They are worthy champions if only for the amazing strength of character the club has shown all season. From the long-term injury to talisman Martin Palermo to the death of president Pedro Pompilio and all the internal disputes, the players and staff have remained focussed and united enough to emerge as deserved champions.

Lucas Viatri’s looping header in the 1-0 victory against River Plate will go down as the key turning point results-wise, but consecutive 1-0 wins against Banfield, San Lorenzo and Arsenal turned out to be equally as vital in the hunt for the title. Juan Roman Riquelme, majestic at times in this Apertura, might also look back on his match-winning, thumping volley against Racing as a decisive moment in the title race.

So in the end it is the mighty Boca Juniors who pip the others to the post and lift their 23rd league championship. La mitad mas uno. But it could have been so different. Commiserations are due to Tigre. If they continue to play with the heart and desire they showed for so long in the Apertura 2008 however, they might just surprise a few people, again, in 2009.

Argentina, Argentinian Football, Boca Juniors, Tigre