Veron, Estudiantes Crash Out of Top Spot

Since lifting the Copa Libertadores crown last summer, Estudiantes de La Plata proudly wore the crown as the best team in America. Although the four-time Copa Libertadores champions have progressed into the quarterfinals of this year’s addition, Alejandro Sabella and his men were desperate to lift the Argentine Clausura Championship, even resting starters in the Copa in order to contest the local tournament at full strength.

Sunday, Sabella’s men who were last champions of Argentina in 2006 after a dramatic one game play off against Boca Juniors, took the field against 17th place Rosario Central with a one point lead of surprise outfit Argentinos Juniors who faced off against fellow title challengers, Independiente.

What transpired over the next 90 minutes can only be described as one of the most riveting Sunday’s in Argentina for many years.

Argentinos took the lead against Independiente, and in the tournament, after Jose Calderon broke free down the left and played in a low cross for Nicolas Pavlovich to finish off from a tight angle against the tournament’s top goalkeeper, Adrian Gabbarini.

Argentinos’ lead was brief, as the crowd at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona was stunned when Leonel Nunez drew Independiente level with what is known in Argentina as a “Gol Olimpico,” or a goal scored direct from a corner kick.

With parity restored in Buenos Aires, Estudiantes returned to the poll position, but were quickly let down by their captain and icon Juan Sebastian Veron whose rash elbow on Mario

Paglialunga earned him a deserved straight red card after just half an hour of play.

Despite being down a man, Estudiantes kept control of the game against a very poor Central, creating a series of good chances, and after Diego Gandin and Nunez put Independiente two goals ahead against Argentinos, it looked like El Pincha was still in the driver’s seat for the title; that was, until Argentinos launched the most improbable of comebacks.

Pavlovich pulled Argentinos one back when he headed home Ignacio Canuto’s cross, but with Indpendiente frantic to pull themselves back into the title hopes, it looked a task to large for Argentinos.

In La Plata, as the game reached the final few minutes, Estudiantes goalkeeper Agustin Orion was forced to make a point blank save from former Genoa striker Lucho Figueroa before Figueroa fired wide from close range moments later.

It appeared that Orion’s heroics would be enough to keep Estudiantes as the tournament’s front-runners, but Argentinos would not be denied and miraculously scored twice in the dying second to topple Indpendiente 4-3 and take a two point lead of Estudiantes with one round to play.

After Gabbarini had kept out Argentinos with a series of acrobatic saves, a lose ball in the area fell to Juan Alberto Sabia leveled matters at three before Matías Caruzzo's shot deep into stoppage time left Gabbarini wrong-footed after taking a deflection, sticking a dagger into the heart of those in La Plata.

After a great second half comeback for the second straight week, Argentinos control their own destiny against Huracan, while Estudiantes will travel north to Sante Fe to face Colon in the Elephant’s Graveyard without their captain, and after a midweek trip to Porto Alegre to take on Inter of Brasil in the Copa Libertadores.

For Argentinos, a small club in La Paternal area of Buenos Aires, a triumph Sunday would hand the club just its second domestic crown ever.

Famous for "El Semillero," their youth system that produced the likes of Diego Maradona, Juan Roman Riquelme, Juan Pablo Sorin, Sergio Batista, Esteban Cambiasso, Fernando Redondo, and currently coach Claudio Borghi, Argentinos have often been forced to sell their talented youngsters to the bigger clubs in Argentina, and a the 2010 Clausura would be a brilliant present to the long suffering fans of "El Bicho."

The heartbreak for the Estudiantes faithful is magnified by the fact that it was their legend, Veron, who foolishly left his team shorthanded for over an hour Sunday.

Today’s flying elbow was the second time during the tournament that Veron has been sent off (the other time came during a 1-0 victory against Velez, also during the first half) an alarming statistic for the national team and coach Diego Maradona, who is counting on Veron to be a leader on and off the pitch during the World Cup.

During qualifying for South Africa, Veron saw red during a loss to Paraguay in Asuncion, and a repeat of such irresponsibility could cost Argentina the ultimate prize.

For now, Argentinos are the favorites, while Estudiantes are forced to again prioritize the Copa Libertadoes against a very strong Inter side.

Estudiantes could very well continue as the best team in America, but barring a stunning result next week, they won’t be the best team in their own country.