"Superclasico" is right!

Boca's Gago employs a rarely-used airborne scissors tackle on River's Belluschi. But it was the River man - nappy haircut notwithstanding - who stole the show.




On Sunday afternoon, one of the world's great derbies was played down in Buenos Aires. At the cavernous Estadio Monumental, River Plate took on Boca Juniors. River had to win, not just because they were up against their arch-enemy, but because Boca was already four points ahead in the Apertura standings and had a game in hand. It wasn't looking good for River when their two stars were forced out of the match; Marcelo "El Muneco" Gallardo missed with an injury, while Ariel "El Burrito" Ortega was mentally unfit to play (By that logic, wouldn't Terrell Owens miss every game? But I digress). To make matters worse, Boca's two stars, Rodrigo Palacio & Fernando Gago, were in such fine form that the president of Barcelona was in town to sign one or both of them, with a Real Madrid representative hot on his heels to try to close a deal for los Merengues. As it happened, a young striker/midfielder duo did indeed steal the show, but they were wearing white shirts with a red stripe, not blue ones with a yellow stripe. River's Gonzalo Higuain and Fernando Belluschi were simply unbeatable on the day. Higuain bagged a brace, but Belluschi had a hand (or foot) in all three River goals. It was Belluschi's free-kick that led to the first goal, he provided the through-ball for the second one, and he led a lethal counter-attack right down route 1 to put the finishing touches on River's 3-1 demolition. Palacio scored for Boca, Gago acquitted himself well, but the day belonged to Belluschi. In fact, none of his assists even qualified as his most important contributions to River's victory. With his team up 2-1, Belluschi cleared a ball of the line with his knee, denying Boca the equalizer and helping his team keep a lead that they would never relinquish. For a worldwide audience, including the top European club scouts, it was a performance that will surely springboard Belluschi - and Higuain - over to the Continent someday soon. And even though these much-hyped derbies rarely deliver the goods, as games get bogged down by the tension, pressure, and sheer overwhelming weight of the occassion, this year's Superclasico proved to be just that: super.