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South American Dispatch: Banfield Boss Julio Cesar Falcioni Reacts To Historic League Win
Goal.com’s Tim Sturtridge reports on the success starved Buenos Aires outfit’s Apertura title...
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Dec 14, 2009 5:32:42 PM
There were few fireworks from Banfield head coach Julio Cesar Falcioni as he was presented with the Argentine Apertura trophy at the Florencio Sola stadium.
After securing Banfield's first title in the club's 105 year existence, Falcioni refused to go over the top in his celebrations.
"We are all here to recognise this historic achievement for our club," Falcioni told the crowd. "It is very important that we won but I insist it will not change me. None of us changed in order to become champions and we will remain the same humble workers we always have been."
Falcioni knows a fair bit about winning titles as a player after spending the majority of his career with America de Cali in Colombia. The coach described the scenes in the Banfield dressing room after the final whistle.
"There was wall-to-wall excitement, tears, hugs as well as everything that you need in a dressing room to create a successful group," Falcioni said.
The final Sunday of the season was a tense affair for Banfield as they knew if they slipped up against Boca Juniors then Newell’s could wrestle the title away from them. Despite Banfield losing 2-0 to Boca, it made no difference in the end as Newell’s lost by the same scoreline to San Lorenzo. Falcioni shared his thoughts while he watched his side losing from the visiting team’s bench against Boca.
"It was hard, you’re losing the game and you have the radio glued to your ear," Falcioni said. "Even if we didn’t win today everyone at the club deserves the league. The players who played every game and the players who only played five minutes have all been great."
Falcioni finished addressing the fans by assuring them that he will be out to retain the league title next year as well going for glory in the Copa Libertadores.
D'Alessandro Not Inter-Rested In A Change
Supporters of Internacional may well be excused for still licking their wounds after narrowly missing out on the Brazilian title this year. Fans of the team have received some welcome news however as they have been told that the club have no intention of selling Andres D'Alessandro.
The Argentine has become a popular fixture with the Internacional faithful since his move to Porto Alegre from San Lorenzo two years ago. In his time with the club, D'Alessandro has won the Copa Sudamericana and the Campeonato Gaucho as well as picking up a league runners-up medal this year.
There was speculation surrounding the player and a possible return to River Plate, the club where he started his career. However the midfielder reacted quickly to quash those rumours while back in Argentina for the Christmas holidays.
"Currently the possibility of a return to River is zero," the former Youth World Championship winner said. "I want to play at the World Cup next year and to do that I am focused on doing well at Internacional. I still have a lot of work to do to repay Internacional’s investment in me."
D'Alessandro featured in a handful of Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers for South Africa 2010 but in more recent times appears to have slipped off Diego Maradona’s radar. The player will hope that a few dazzling performances in next year’s Copa Libertadores will remind those back home just what the 28-year-old is still capable of.
Gremio Gather Funds For An Argentine Of Their Own
Another Argentine who looks set to stay in Porto Alegre but with Gremio rather than Internacional is Maxi Lopez.
The club have been trying for a while now to raise the €1.5 million needed to purchase 50 per cent of the player’s registration from FC Moscow of the Russian Premier League.
According to Brazilian newspaper Zero Hora, the money has now been raised and Lopez's wage demands is the only wrinkle in the deal left to be iron out. With such warm feelings being expressed on behalf of the player, his manager and the club’s board, it is expected that the deal will be concluded early this week.
While 50 per cent of Lopez’s rights are owned by FC Moscow, the other half is owned by the player himself. It seems Gremio are keen on securing a deal that would eventually give them 100 per cent ownership of the player.
After arriving at Gremio earlier in the year, Lopez quickly established himself as a fans favourite before going on to notch 12 goals in the latest edition of the Brazilian top flight. With Lopez on board for next season and Douglas Costa looking to continue his development, Gremio fans have a number of reasons to be optimistic ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Tim Sturtridge, Goal.com
After securing Banfield's first title in the club's 105 year existence, Falcioni refused to go over the top in his celebrations.
"We are all here to recognise this historic achievement for our club," Falcioni told the crowd. "It is very important that we won but I insist it will not change me. None of us changed in order to become champions and we will remain the same humble workers we always have been."
Falcioni knows a fair bit about winning titles as a player after spending the majority of his career with America de Cali in Colombia. The coach described the scenes in the Banfield dressing room after the final whistle.
"There was wall-to-wall excitement, tears, hugs as well as everything that you need in a dressing room to create a successful group," Falcioni said.
The final Sunday of the season was a tense affair for Banfield as they knew if they slipped up against Boca Juniors then Newell’s could wrestle the title away from them. Despite Banfield losing 2-0 to Boca, it made no difference in the end as Newell’s lost by the same scoreline to San Lorenzo. Falcioni shared his thoughts while he watched his side losing from the visiting team’s bench against Boca.
"It was hard, you’re losing the game and you have the radio glued to your ear," Falcioni said. "Even if we didn’t win today everyone at the club deserves the league. The players who played every game and the players who only played five minutes have all been great."
Falcioni finished addressing the fans by assuring them that he will be out to retain the league title next year as well going for glory in the Copa Libertadores.
D'Alessandro Not Inter-Rested In A Change
Supporters of Internacional may well be excused for still licking their wounds after narrowly missing out on the Brazilian title this year. Fans of the team have received some welcome news however as they have been told that the club have no intention of selling Andres D'Alessandro.
The Argentine has become a popular fixture with the Internacional faithful since his move to Porto Alegre from San Lorenzo two years ago. In his time with the club, D'Alessandro has won the Copa Sudamericana and the Campeonato Gaucho as well as picking up a league runners-up medal this year.
There was speculation surrounding the player and a possible return to River Plate, the club where he started his career. However the midfielder reacted quickly to quash those rumours while back in Argentina for the Christmas holidays.
"Currently the possibility of a return to River is zero," the former Youth World Championship winner said. "I want to play at the World Cup next year and to do that I am focused on doing well at Internacional. I still have a lot of work to do to repay Internacional’s investment in me."
D'Alessandro featured in a handful of Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers for South Africa 2010 but in more recent times appears to have slipped off Diego Maradona’s radar. The player will hope that a few dazzling performances in next year’s Copa Libertadores will remind those back home just what the 28-year-old is still capable of.
Gremio Gather Funds For An Argentine Of Their Own
Another Argentine who looks set to stay in Porto Alegre but with Gremio rather than Internacional is Maxi Lopez.
The club have been trying for a while now to raise the €1.5 million needed to purchase 50 per cent of the player’s registration from FC Moscow of the Russian Premier League.
According to Brazilian newspaper Zero Hora, the money has now been raised and Lopez's wage demands is the only wrinkle in the deal left to be iron out. With such warm feelings being expressed on behalf of the player, his manager and the club’s board, it is expected that the deal will be concluded early this week.
While 50 per cent of Lopez’s rights are owned by FC Moscow, the other half is owned by the player himself. It seems Gremio are keen on securing a deal that would eventually give them 100 per cent ownership of the player.
After arriving at Gremio earlier in the year, Lopez quickly established himself as a fans favourite before going on to notch 12 goals in the latest edition of the Brazilian top flight. With Lopez on board for next season and Douglas Costa looking to continue his development, Gremio fans have a number of reasons to be optimistic ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Tim Sturtridge, Goal.com
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