The Rios saga continues

If Andres Rios thought his misconduct would have no consequences, well he should have thought better. The player was cited by the authorizing judge to declare on his abandonment of the club. Although Rios had been training with his "new" club Veracruz, he flew to Cordoba to comply with the judicial order. The player apologized over his actions but it appears that neither the judge nor Armando Perez will accept the offer for the player. It's been confirmed that Veracruz had a raise of their bid rejected again. And the Belgrano management have said that Rios will not be joining Veracruz. He will be cited to train with Belgrano and wait for new offers to come in. Although this is not an ideal situation for the player nor the club, we believe the player has brought it all on himself by refusing to comply with his obligations. As loyal and caring fans, we don't accept this behaviour and wish the best for the club. As for the player, he should better think twice before acting foolishly.

Belgrano sign Federico Garcia

Belgrano have secured the signing of the cultured 28-year left winger Federico Garcia (pictured). The Rafaela player spent last season on loan at newly-promoted Olimpo and joins Belgrano on a one-year loan. The player has already been training with his new teammates. With the arrival of Garcia, the squad is starting to look promising and our promotion hopes are becoming ever so real.

Gandin, Garcia and Lujambio are Belgrano targets

Belgrano are desperately looking for a striker. After many speculations, it appears that it's a two-horse race between Gandin and Lujambio. While both have been given the nod by Pancho Ferraro, Gandin looks like the best long-term bet. Belgrano have made an offer for the player to Colon (said to be around U$S 1m) but Gandin is hoping to sign for a first Division team. If that doesn't go well, then he will most likely sign for Belgrano. Lujambio, a former Belgrano favorite and declared fan, is the alternative option. While he is not getting any younger, he is still scoring goals. Finally, Belgrano are looking for a left-winger after Romero decided to sign for Argentions in the end. The candidate: Federico Garcia. He would be a great signing but Rafaela is not willing to let him go. Apparently, Belgrano are decided to go for a big offer aiming to lure Garcia's interest. Finally, the coach Pancho Ferraro said that the squad is 80-85% of the way and that he needs "3 or 4 more players".

Pre-season friendlies

Belgrano are preparing for the start of the season with some friendlies against teams from lower divisions. On Tuesday, Belgrano defeated Villa del Parque, a Necochea outfit, by 1-0. The only goal was scored by Matias Suarez. Yesterday, they faced a stronger opposition in Argentino B-team Comunicaciones but made light work of them by winning 4-0. "El Pajaro" Matias Gigli scored a brace, Mansanelli got himself on the scoresheet and new signing Pages also scored. The coach declared himself happy with the pre-season training and the performance of the team in the preparation matches. The squad is returning to Cordoba today and will return to training tomorrow. Vamos Belgrano Carajo!!!

Rios, Lazaga leave the club

Andres "Pulga" Rios has left the club in a surprise decision. Although there was an interest from Veracruz, no official offer had been made to the Trust in charge of Belgrano. Despite the coach having Rios as one of his key players, the player left the camp and took off to Veracruz where he is training with his new teammates. The decision angered the fans and the chairman has declared that Belgrano will do their utmost to block the move. Lazaga also left Belgrano but in his case the reasons were that he never settled and fell out with the coach. Armando Perez argued that it was in both the Club and the player interest to look for a way out of this situation. Belgrano have part ownwership of the player and may be looking to loan him out.

Belgrano land Bustos and Romero

Belgrano have signed left-winger Andres Romero and centre-forward Claudio Bustos from Ben Hur. Both players featured in the Ben Hur squad that escaped relegation last friday. Although relatively unknown, both players have been in Ferraro's shortlist from the begining of the pre-season. A warm welcome to them!

Belgrano sign Casado and close in on Bustos

Belgrano have agreed terms with 27-year old attacking midfielder Juan Casado. The former Velez player had a previous spell at Belgrano and was a vital part of the Platense team that did so well during the last season. He arrives to Belgrano on a one-year long loan and has already joined the squad in the pre-season. The player said that he was delighted to sign for a famous club and that he was looking forward to help them earn promotion this coming season. Below you can check out some of his goals at Platense:



It has also been rumoured that Claudio Bustos, a powerful 30-year old experienced centre-forward, has also agreed terms with Belgrano and will be joining the squad during this weekend. Bustos, who has scored many goals in his career in the Ascenso, has fallen out with the management at Ben Hur and has declared himself delighted of being linked with Belgrano. This likely addition to the squad means experience and goals, attributes that are needed in order to push for the title and promotion to the First Division.

Peppino signs for Veracruz

Belgrano skipper Franco Peppino has finally signed a contract for Mexican outfit Veracruz. The 25-year old defender said he was looking forward to this new opportunity and declared himself delighted of joininng the Tiburones Rojos. Peppino, raised in Belgrano's Youth Team, became a solid and dependable performer and was among the best Belgrano players in the campaign that saw the team gain promotion and also during last year in the Premier Division. The official fee remains undisclosed but it is said to be around $ 350k. We wish Franco the best in his new club and hope to see him again in a Belgrano shirt in the future.

Javier Lux joins Belgrano

The former Racing central midfielder (pictured, left) has joined Belgrano on a one-year loan contract. Lux, the little known brother of goalkeeper German, had previous spells at Talleres, Instituto, Estudiantes and Arsenal for whom he played in the last year. The 30-year old midfielder has lots of experience and is certainly a quality signing for the second division. Lux has already joined the squad at the Necochea facilities where Belgrano sweat it out during the pre-season. Good luck to Javier in his time at Belgrano!

Offers for Rios and Peppino

Veracruz have declared their interest in Belgrano players Andres Rios and Franco Peppino. It appears they have penciled formal offers for the two players at $ 350k for Peppino and $ 700k for Rios. Other rumours around the Belgrano camp are that some La Liga outfits have also shown interest in both players. What remains to be seen is whether the club will be willing to sell the players considering the coach feels they are key first team players. Earlier this month, the chairman had agreed with the coach Ferraro that both players would stay. The players, on the other hand, have stated that this would be a good opportunity to emigrate. We are confident that the directors will double their efforts to convince the players to stay. After all, we are not selling them that cheap...

Belgrano sign Pietravallo

Belgrano have announced the signing of 25-year old tenacious midfielder Juan Martin Pietravallo. A product of the Velez youth academy, Pietravallo played for several different clubs including Quilmes, Olimpo and Gimnasia LP before joining Nueva Chicago during the last season. Pietravallo's natural role as a defensive midfielder does not impede him to be a good passer and has also great athletic ability. This move should allow Belgrano to cover for the departure of Mario Bolatti, now in Porto FC. You can see a compilation of his best moments over the last three years in this clip (give it a good 30 secs for the action to start):

New faces: De Giorgis and Pages

Belgrano have announced the first two signings of the pre-season: young goalkeeper Carlos De Giorgis and experienced left-back Rodrigo Hernan Pages. De Giorgis played for Gimnasia de Jujuy last season without making a single appearance while Pages was part of the rotation in Banfield. The coach Ferraro had hinted that he needed to strengthen the defense with experienced players. The addition of Pages will certainly provide more depth to the defense. De Giorgis is more of a mistery since he has only filled in as a backup player throughout most of his career. But then again, this may be a strategy to cover for the likely sale of German Montoya. Who knows...

We welcome these two players and hope they are succesful and bring effort and energy to the team. We can only hope that they learn quickly what playing for Belgrano means. We don't ask much, just a strong committment and playing your arse out there in the pitch!!!

Porto land Bolatti

After weeks of speculation, Bolatti has agreed conditions with Porto FC and will be heading to Portugal. The transfer fee is said to be around $2.7m which is a record transfer in the history of the Club Atletico Belgrano. Bolatti will receive $500k per year plus other financial incentives. The transaction will be confirmed when the authorizing judge sees over all the legal papers and contracts.

Although it's sad to see Mario leave, Belgrano fans are very grateful for his years in the club and wish him the very best at his new club. Porto has bought a real gem of a player with a glorious career ahead of him. Good luck Mario!!!

Final destination: Porto or Deportivo?

You know the plot: a highly-rated central midfielder -that is Mario Bolatti- has become hot property in the transfer market. Although several clubs have shown interest in Bolatti, it is clear that it all comes down to two clubs: Porto FC and Deportivo La Coruña. The plot has thickened due to Belgrano's financial situation and to an alleged clash between the player and the club's interests. Apparently, Bolatti had expressed his preference for Deportivo while Belgrano's chairman, Armando Perez, had been favouring Porto's smaller bid. Familiar? Uh...Belgrano are tight-lipped regarding the affair and so is Bolatti. Under these circumstances, we are left with several questions regarding this transfer. Will Bolatti end up in Portugal or Spain? Why is Perez willing to accept a lower bid for the player? What role is the authorizing judge playing? To what extent are the two bids comparable? Are there any future clauses or agreements between Belgrano and either of the clubs that may have a bearing on the transfer? As you can see, there are too many unanswered questions. Only time will tell whether this will result in a happy ending for Belgrano, the buyer and the player or whether this will be another obscure transaction that will hang from our club's wall of shame...