Mr. Kirschner, who died unexpectedly, of a heart attack, on 27 October, 2010, had served as President from 2003-07.  He came into power as part of the wave of leftist leaders throughout South America, including Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Evo Morales of Bolivia and Lula da Silva of Brazil.  His politics were more centrist than some of that group.  For instance, he followed Lula’s example, cancelling the country’s huge debt to the IMF and settling up with one lump payment.  He also reformed what had been an allegedly corrupt Supreme Court and forcibly retired members of the military who had been associated with the Dirty War, a 7-year spell of state-sponsored political oppression, repealing amnesties which had been granted to them as protection from prosecution for torture and murder.  Despite his stance against the armed forces, he was famously criticised by pro-American interests for attending a military parade in Caracas, flanked by Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales.

The Presidential Marriage

Mr. Kirchner stepped down after one term, to create a new Argentine political party.  His wife, Cristina ran in his stead and, having won, now serves as President.  The Argentine press referred to their political relationship, largely seen as a diarchy, as the ‘Presidential Marriage’.

While Mr. Kirschner came into office with a squeaky clean reputation, his final year in office was a stormy one.  His Minister of the Economy was discovered to have a bag containing over $60,000 in her office bathroom and he was himself accused of using the Argentine intelligence agency to spy on opposition candidates, à la Richard Nixon, during the 2005 elections.  Nothing was ever proven, however, and Mr. Kirschner was expected to run again in 2011.

There is much for the competing clubs to do if the performances this season are to properly honour the recently deceased leader. River Plate need to have a strong tournament to avoid any chance of relegation.  Such a storied club’s demotion would hardly be a fitting epitaph for the beloved President.  River are not the only side looking to have a special campaign.  Some clubs have new and promising names and others hired old ones to improve their roster, so let’s break it down.

Boca Junior’s 2008 title was the last one from one of Argentina’s top 5.   However, in 2011, the country’s most popular club is again the favorite.  Walter Erviti, from Banfield, was their main acquisition in January and will pair with Juan Riquelme in the middle.

Racing Club and San Lorenzo are two for the title as well.  Racing has kept their embattled coach Miguel Ángel Russo, and hired two promising players in midfielder Franco Zuculini and forward Teófilo Gutiérrez.  The experienced Ramon Diaz is at the helm for San Lorenzo and he splurged on six players, the most important being Néstor Ortigoza, who was one of the key players in Argentinos Juniors Clausura title last year.

Estudiantes de la Plata and Velez Sarsfield, champions and runners-up respectively in the just completed Apertura, stood pat during the break and are also threats. However, their grueling Libertadores schedule may erode some of their effectiveness in the league.

Independiente, Godoy Cruz and Argentinos Juniors are all quality sides, facing the same ‘dilemma’of continental play.  Still, Godoy’s coach, Jorge da Silva, has gone on record, claiming that the national tournament is more important than the South American one.

As it happens every year, the newly promoted clubs face an uphill battle to survive.  The average system, which calculates each club’s performance over the last three years, to determine relegation, but doesn’t grant newcomers a three-year stay, is designed to protect the River Plates and Bocas of the league from the drop.  So, Olimpo and Quilmesare aren’t expected to be around for too long. All Boys came in with them but made a remarkable run at the Apertura and are probably safe to play another year at the first level, especially with the addition of midfielder Ariel Ortega.

Gimnasia La Plata recruited the experienced but aging forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who will be 38 in May, from Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew to avoid relegation.  Hurucán, Tigre and River Plate, the last despite the playing field being tipped in their favour, will battle Gimnasia to avoid the third relegation spot.

The tradition of a legendary club rests on the shoulders of an unproven coach with a young squad.

The Millionários, as River has long been known, have had to learn the new economics of Nestor Kirchner the hard way and, with the cupboard bare, and debtors at the door, can’t afford to purchase any big names.  Instead, they will rely on players from their youth squad and an untested coach to avoid a very real possibility of relegation after three bad years.  The man in charge, Juan José López, was last in charge at Libertad, in Paraguay, but has been the youth coach at River since last year.  Twice in that time he has served as interim boss for the club, his situation with the Buenos Aires giants similar to that of Chris Hughton’s, when he was at Newcastle.  López’challenge, though, will not be to bring his side back to the top flight but to keep them there.

River get their relegation battle started on Sunday, with a trip to the Monumental de Victoria to face Tigre.  The weekend’s full spate of matches also features a Friday night clash between Independiente and Velez Sarsfield and another Sunday tilt wherein Boca host Godoy Cruz.  While it remains to be seen who will do Nestor Kirchner most proud, the Argentine Clausura promises 5 months of entertaining football.  Don’t miss it!

The second half of the season usually breathes new life into the Bundesliga, with previously unheralded teams springing to the fore to the surprise of many, not least a few red-faced pundits. But the element of surprise isn’t only limited to teams. Here are some lesser-known players who could enhance their reputations between now and May:

Franco Zuculini (Hoffenheim) - Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick is a personal friend of Arsene Wenger. The two share the same footballing philosophy. And it shows. Hoffenheim play a brand of pacy attacking football that is pleasing on the eye and, like Wenger’s boys, lack steel and bite in the centre of the park. That’s where Zuculini comes in. Despite having made only 4 appearances this season, Rangnick trusted the 19 year-old Argentinian to start in the centre of midfield in their defeat away to Bayern this Friday (15 January). Zuculini didn’t disappoint, putting in an all-action display, harrying Schweinsteiger and Van Bommel in Bayern’s midfield. He was hell-bent on breaking up Bayern’s attacks, also showing a willingness to get forward and a good range of passing. Signed from Racing Club Avellaneda for €4.6 million, Zuculini has the potential to become the complete midfielder and could be a real find for Hoffenheim.

Alexander Baumjohann (Schalke) – Schalke have been nothing short of a revelation so far this season. Despite a lack of imagination in midfield, and a mountain of debt, Schalke find themselves 2nd in the table (as at 18 January). That they have come this far is down to a list of factors (tight defence, superior fitness levels, a top class manager) in which creativity is closer to the bottom than the top. To inject some invention into the centre of the park, Magath has brought in Baumjohann. One of a long and distinguished list of promising young players not to have made the grade at Bayern, Baumjohann made ony 3 appearances for the Bavarians before landing back at the club where he began his career. The skilful midfielder will be hoping to recapture the form he showed for Borussia Moenchengladbach in 2008-09, the form which earned him the move to Bayern in the 1st place. If he does, you wouldn’t bet against Schalke capturing an unlikely league title.

Marco Reus (Borussia Moenchengladbach) – The sales of both Marko Marin and Baumjohann during the close season, and the replacement of experienced manager Hans Meyer with Michael Frontzeck, were thought by many to be a recipe for relegation. However, Gladbach have been a pleasant surprise this season, playing some classy football and recording some notable wins against the likes of  Hamburg, Schalke, Mainz and Frankfurt. This is thanks in no small part to the men signed to replace Marin and Baumjohann: Juan Arango (Mallorca) and Reus (Rot-Weiss Ahlen). 20 year-old Reus has been particularly impressive. A classy playmaker, Reus’trademark is cutting in from wide positions, either to slip the strikers through on goal or to go for the one-two and finish the move himself. Reus scored in the wins against Hamburg and Schalke, but his finest moment was a stunning solo effort against Mainz in August, running from the halfway line to coolly slot past the keeper.

Adrián Ramos (Hertha BSC) - If Ramos had known what was to unfold at Hertha Berlin during his first half season at the club, he may well have stayed put in Colombia. The side from the capital lost 13 of their 17 league games. Lucien Favre, the manager who brought him to Germany, was sacked and the club have been rooted to the bottom of the table and hurtling towards the trap door. The Colombian international initially looked like a fish out of water at Hertha, unable to adapt to the demands of the Bundesliga. However, as Berlin have shown a small improvement under new coach Friedhelm Funkel, Ramos has begun to show what inspired Favre to sign him from America de Cali. Perhaps Ramos’ biggest strength is his intelligent movement off the ball. He frequently manages to position himself in the channels between full-backs and centre-backs so that team mates can slip him through on goal with ease, and when he’s one on one with opposing keepers, he keeps a cool head and looks to place it into the corners. Since his first goal for the club at Stuttgart in November, Ramos has netted 5 in 6. Unbeaten so far in the ‘Rueckrunde’, Hertha now lie 8 points adrift of safety. If they’re to somehow survive, they’ll need Ramos firing.

Photo from www.focus.de