For the record, the photo accompanying this article is from Thursday's Boca Juniors match with Chacarita Juniors at the Bombonera. It had no effect on the rankings, but I wanted to post a photo of my own to the entry.

For the first time in over a month, a club remained at the top spot of the rankings for consecutive weeks as Chelsea solidified its position at the top with a pair of 4-0 victories over Bolton Wanderers this week.

'Where's my week gone?!' I can hear you inwardly asking. Don't worry you've not been in a coma since Monday. Due to the upcoming World Cup qualifiers (notably that between Argentina and Brazil in Rosario on Saturday) the AFA have moved the third round of the Torneo Apertura to midweek. Rosario Central vs River [.

If the AFA thought they had problems with crowd control in the top flight for the last few seasons, they can't have been happy bunnies on Monday. Chacarita Juniors, whose previous spells in Primera A have been most notable for very badly behaved crowds, most infamously (and tragically) when playing Boca Juniors, are back in [.

The second round of the 2009 Torneo Apertura takes in at least two channels (América will broadcast four matches exclusively, with the rest on Canal 7 and possibly Canal 9) and an early clash between two teams who could potentially be propping up the table come December River Plate host Chacarita Juniors.

Tuesday night saw a home win at the Gigante del Arroyito, not that it'll be much consolation for the majority of supporters of the selección. River Plate played ineptly and when Diego Buonanotte gave the ball away in midfield, Rosario Central were able to break and score their second goal in an eventual 2-1 win.

Martín Palermo scored an amazing 45-yard header to win a five-goal bonanza in La Bombonera as Boca Juniors became the first team this season to beat Vélez Sársfield. It's got the more excitable elements of the Argentine press (which is to say, the Argentine press) insisting that he should start for the selección.

The thirteenth round of the Torneo Apertura sees the first weekend round to hang over to Monday night (not counting the twelfth round which lasted through til Tuesday due to the previous round only having finished on the Thursday before). Joint leaders Newell's and Banfield are at home River and away to San Lorenzo respectively, [.

Fuente: Arsenal de Sarandí
Hoy se publicó el programa de partidos correspondiente al Apertura 2009. Arsenal comenzará la díficil tarea de la permanencia en Primera frente a Estudiantes de La Plata en Sarandí. Enfrentaremos a todos los grandes como local durante este campeonato.

At last, after much coming and going, it's confirmed: the 2009 Torneo Apertura will begin this coming Friday (and in time for the new season, we've got a bit of a surprise for you, of which more later in the week...). A discussion on Saturday at the AFA saw a planned schedule for the weekend [...]

The biggest clash of the opening weekend of the 2009 Torneo Apertura could well be the match in Rosario between Central and Racing, two clubs eager to improve on their relegation points averages early on in the season. This was particularly important in Central's case, and it was the hosts who won thanks to a [.

River Plate began the Apertura as they mean to continue it, conceding a chaotic goal to Banfield after just a minute and looking largely toothless in an attempt to get back into the game. Clausura runners-up Huracán scored a cracker but still lost to Lanús, and Boca were 2-0 down at home to Argentinos at [.

All 23 of the goals from the Torneo Apertura 2009 are now online, and you can watch, as ever, the TN Show de Goles on this 'ere link. As ever, if you don't know which teams play in which colours, read on for the running order. Running order for TN Show de Goles: Gimnasia LP (white & [...]

It was the Argentine league sponsored by AARP. The stars of the weekend happened to be three of the elder statesmen of the league.
Ariel Ortega played a putrid 70-plus minutes until he assisted on the equalizer and scored the game-winner on a brilliant chip shot to put a moribund River Plate over Chacarita Juniors at the Monumental with what might be the goal of the week.

Largely thanks to the efforts of River Plate, Chacarita Juniors, Independiente, Vélez Sársfield and Estudiantes, there were 33 goals in the Argentine Primera División Torneo Apertura during the weekend just gone. You can watch all of them right here on this post, since the normal TN Sportblog link for some reason doesn't include any of [.

Racing play Gimnasia La Plata in another crucial relegation encounter; Vélez play San Lorenzo in a clash of potential title contenders; Lanús are at home in the clásico del Sur and... what's this?... Boca Juniors are playing on a Saturday?! The world has gone mad. If you love Argentine football and want to forget the [.

The goals from the weekend's football action in Argentina are online now, and as you can see them on the TN Sportblog, whose video this week deigns the round worthy of having all its goals shown (something they've neglected to do on two occasions already this season). For the goals from the Primera División, click [.

The weekend's clásico was a damp squib, with San Lorenzo and Racing cancelling each other out in Boedo. Earlier on Sunday Newell's beat Lanús to go fifth, whilst on Saturday Chacarita's pointless start to the season continued with a 3-1 defeat to Colón, and Independiente took a point from the champions, Vélez Sársfield.

All twenty-six of the goals from the 2009 Torneo Apertura are online now, and you can watch them through the TN Sportblog by clicking here. Read on for the running order, as usual. Running order for TN Show de Goles: Huracán (blue) vs Estudiantes (red & white stripes) Colón (red & black halves) vs Chacarita (white with weird [.

Three teams are tied on twenty points at the top of the Torneo Apertura after Saturday's matches, and San Lorenzo could join them on Sunday. As well as Central's 2-0 win over Independiente, Estudiantes had already won on Friday night, 1-0 over Atlético Tucumán, and on Saturday Banfield (3-0 at home to Godoy Cruz) and [.

At the end of Week 10

1. Colon 21
2. Estudiantes 20
3. Banfield 20
4. Newell's Old Boys 20
5. San Lorenzo 19
6. Argentinos Juniors 19
7.

In a meeting held between Maradona & Grondona it was decided that current Chacarita Juniors manager Fernando Gamboa will become one of Maradona's assitants replacing Miguel Angel Lemme whose contract expires next month.

It is not yet known what will happen with Maradona's other assistant, Alejandro Mancuso.

Boca Juniors beat Chacarita Juniors by three golazos to nil (losing Juan Román Riquelme to a foot injury until 2010 in the process), and Lanús dismembered Tigre in El Sur, but the big story of Thursday was River Plate's 2-1 victory over Argentinos Juniors the Núñez giants' first away win in 17 attempts, with [.

I know this is kind of late, but things have been busy here in Buenos Aires. Look for the Stadium Tour entries to continue as I was able to attend the Boca Juniors / Chacarita Juniors match at La Bombonera on Thursday.

Putting together this list just keeps getting more and more frustrating.

The twelfth round of the Torneo Apertura 2009 got underway on Saturday, and I'm afraid to say, following the midweek round of matches and the fact I was out on Friday night, that it caught me out. On Saturday, champions Vélez hosted and brushed aside Godoy Cruz, before Racing Racing! gave Atlético Tucumán [.

Saturday's matches saw Newell's Old Boys return to the top of the table with a 2-1 home win over River Plate in which, not for the first time, Diego Buonanotte gave the visitors their only joy of the match. A little later, Atlético Tucumán ended a run of eight matches without a win, thrashing Tigre [.

The thirteenth round of the 2009 Torneo Apertura ended on Monday night with a late, late goal from Arsenal de Sarandí midfielder Diego Galván which clinched a point for El Arse after they'd trailed for practically the entire second half to Huracán. Angel Cappa's team were thus denied a third win of the campaign.

On Saturday afternoon, Ferro Carril Oeste beat Chacarita Juniors 2-0 to leave things at the top of B Nacional more congested than ever, but later on was another meeting of title chasers, as Vélez Sársfield, top of Primera A, hosted Racing Club, who amazingly would have gone fifth with a win. Some thing never change, [.

¡Ya regrese el fútbol! Matías Defederico might be on his way to the Premier League via a loan deal with Huracán for the Clausura, after club president Carlos Babington claimed an impending deal with Corinthians had collapsed over the Brazilian club's desire to pay the transfer fee in eighteen separate payments.

The clásico del Sur was a happy one for Banfield, who ran out 2-1 winners away to Lanús. The goals came from a Paraguayan and a Uruguayan, which could be the Argentine version of some sort of 'Englishman, Irishman, Scotsman' joke. Estudiantes beat Independiente late on, and in the first half of the final match [.

This weekend sees the first clásico of the season between members of the 'Big Five', with San Lorenzo hosting Racing Club on Sunday afternoon as Argentina finally bids farewell to winter. Saturday sees Tigre visit Gimnasia in a match which should see both sides hopeful of getting some points on the board, but Friday sees [.

Five teams remain unbeaten after the sixth round of matches in the Torneo Apertura, although amazingly one of them San Lorenzo are down in 8th. Having drawn four, Saturday's five-goal thriller over Tigre was only their second victory of the campaign. Chacarita finally got a win, whilst the replay of last season's Clausura [.

Ricardo Caruso Lombardi's Racing visit Huracán in what could be the manager's penultimate match in charge of the Avellaneda side. If he doesn't see a big improvement from his players by the time the next round's game against Boca Juniors concludes, Caruso Lombardi says he'd 'prefer to leave home' and let someone else step in.

The goals from the seventh round of the 2009 Torneo Apertura are online now, and they include some crackers. Watch out in particular for Pablo Toranzo's screamer for Huracán against Racing, and Juan Román Riquelme's equaliser for Boca against Vélez which was a far better goal than the improbable 40-yard header Martín Palermo scored [.

We're now halfway through the Torneo Apertura, and two points separate 1st from 8th. How's the AFA's playoff system going to work if everyone ends up on the same points total? San Lorenzo lead after edging out Central on Friday evening, Racing and Gimnasia La Plata both lost on Saturday, and Sunday saw Rolando Schiavi [.

At the end of Week 9

1. Santiago Silva (Banfield) 7
2. Dario Gandin (Independiente) 6
3. Mauro Boselli (Estudiantes) 5
4. Gabriel Hauche (Argentinos Juniors) 5
5. Jonathan Cristaldo (Velez) 4
6.

Fuente: Arsenal de Sarandí
Tabla del Apertura 2009
(Campeón va a la Libertadores 2010)
Dejando atrás las dudas de las primeras fechas, el San Lorenzo del Cholo Simeone ha mostrado mucha solidez defensiva, así como ha sacado partido del buen momento de sus delanteros y de aquella dosis de suerte necesaria para estar peleando arriba.

One fixture will dominate the weekend in Argentina in terms of the international attention, but although it probably pushes Liverpool vs Manchester United into second place on the list of Really Big Rivalries in the football world this weekend, River Plate vs Boca Juniors won't mean anything at either end of the table this time.

The game of musical chairs atop the Primera División gathers apace. Estudiantes, Banfield and Newell's have all led the table at various points since Friday afternoon, but at the end of the weekend it's Colón who are left looking down on the rest of Argentina, after a 2-1 win at home to San Lorenzo courtesy [.

At the end of Week 10

1. Santiago Silva (Banfield) – 9
2. Mauro Boselli (Estudiantes) – 6
3. Dario Gandin (Independiente) – 6
4. Jonathan Cristaldo (Velez Sarsfield) – 5
5.

The goals from the tenth round of the 2009 Torneo Apertura are online now, but the people at the TN Sportblog are obviously Colón fans still hungover from seeing their team go top on Sunday evening, because they've not updated their site since before the superclásico. You can watch the goals right here though, embedded [.