Drawing to a close

With only three fixtures to go the Apertura 2006 is drawing to a close. The title race is only down to Boca Juniors and Estudiantes de La Plata, with Boca most likely winning their third League in a row. The battle for relegation (which is decided at the end of the season 2006/07) will certainly involve several teams the most likely being Godoy Cruz, Quilmes, Nueva Chicago, Colon, Argentinos Jrs., Gimnasia de Jujuy and Belgrano. On a positive note, Belgrano has performed better than all these other teams boasting 19 points in 16 matches played. The remainig fixtures are: Lanus (H), Boca Juniors (H) and Banfield (A). Most fans would be happy to go into the break with 23-25 points and that involves winning a couple of these matches. On the other hand, not reaching 20 points would leave us in a difficult situation for the Clausura 2006. Following the last defeat against Colon, chairman Armando Perez went public and gave some hints about the next steps. He said there needed to be some changes and hinted that they may even involve the manager (although he gave a vote of confidence to Mario Griguol). He also suggested that there will be a reduction in the number of players at the end of the Apertura 2006. Perez said there were no news in the stadium expansion plans. When asked about whether a new manager will be taking up de reins, he hinted that was a possibility and in that case Mario Griguol would rejoin Belgrano's youth divisions. Speculation is rife about potential managers and Claudio Borghi, Nelson Acosta, Oscar Malbernat, Leonardo Astrada are but a few names thrown into the mix. Whatever the truth about these rumours, it is clear that some things will need to change for the good if Belgrano are to play their way out of the relegation zone. It is a good sign that the chairman is determined to turn things around. Photo Source: La Voz del Interior