Newell’s Old Boys are a club who pride themselves on representing the city of Rosario and the province of Santa Fe. Seven of the starting eleven who took to the pitch to face Velez Sarsfield on Wednesday evening were from Santa Fe or the neighbouring province of Entre Rios. Yet it was one of the two Santa Fe natives on the opposing team who produced the decisive moment of the match and seriously dented the home side’s hopes of reaching the last eight of the Copa Libertadores.

Agustin Allione was born and raised in Amenabar, a small town of less than 2,000 people in the south of the province. He played children’s football for local club Independiente, but migrated to Buenos Aires to join the Velez academy at the age of 13. Playing on the right of midfield or in the centre, he shone in each age category and represented Argentina at Under-17 and Under-20 level. Allione made his first team debut at 17 and was named one of the top 23 players under the age of 23 in a recent issue of the renowned sports magazine El Grafico.

He is undoubtedly one of the most talented young players in Argentina, but back in his home province he struggled to make an impact during the opening hour on Wednesday. Newell’s had dominated the first half, while his side’s best play had come via the axis of Emiliano Papa, Federico Insua and Jonathan Copete on the opposite side of the pitch. But as Velez broke quickly following a halted Newell’s attack in the 63rd minute he was afforded an opportunity to shine. 

Picking the ball up on the right, Allione played it inside to Insua and continued his run, receiving a perfectly weighted return pass from his team-mate, taking a touch inside a covering defender and then prodding the ball high into the back of the net. It was a faultlessly executed counter-attack and one that yielded the 18-year-old’s first goal for the club. “I thought of my father”, he said the next day. “In the evening, when we spoke on the phone, he told me I was going to score.”

It proved to be the winning goal as Velez gained control of the match, adroitly keeping possession in the final third and again displaying the defensive stability that has been one of the hallmarks of their campaign to date. Newell’s coach Gerardo Martino felt hard done by afterwards, but would struggle to argue with the assessment of his opposite number Ricardo Gareca, who praised the “composure, intelligence and temperament” of his side.

Velez have only conceded three goals in seven matches in this year’s Copa Libertadores and it looks a tall order for Newell’s to reverse their first leg deficit in the return in three weeks’ time, especially with El Fortin having an away goal to their credit. With a quarter-final beckoning, Velez may begin to wonder whether they can finally convert their domestic consistency into continental success.

Velez have won three league titles, finished second once, third twice, and only once lower than fifth since former player Christian Bassedas was appointed sporting director in late 2008. Astute purchases and a fruitful youth academy have allowed the club to enjoy their most sustained period of success since the mid-1990s.

They are one of the few Argentine clubs who refuse to sell percentages of the registration of players to third parties and thus receive the full transfer fee as and when their players move on to Europe. The sales of youth team graduates Nicolas Otamendi and Jonathan Cristaldo and players purchased from elsewhere, like Augusto Fernandez and Maxi Moralez, have placed the club in a strong financial position and allowed them to repatriate players such as Federico Insua, Lucas Pratto and most recently, Fernando Gago.

Patience and consistency have reigned supreme in a country where such virtues are often scarce. Gareca is now in his fifth year at the helm, making him comfortably the second longest serving coach in the Primera Division, while there has also been a certain degree of stability in the playing staff, with stalwarts such as Sebastian Dominguez, Emiliano Papa, Fabian Cubero and Franco Razzotti forming the backbone of the side.

Youth team graduates such as Gino Peruzzi, Ivan Bella, Ariel Cabral and Fernando Tobio have filled the boots of those who have departed to Europe, and Allione is part of another promising generation that also includes Lucas Romero, a highly competitive midfielder likened to Diego Simeone, and Brian Ferreira, a technically accomplished attacking midfielder.

The latter three were all born in 1994, the year Velez won their one and only Copa Libertadores, achieved under the command of Carlos Bianchi, like Gareca a former striker for the club. This year’s draw has not been kind to them, with the likes of holders Corinthians and top group stage seed Atletico Mineiro potentially awaiting, but having been the most consistently competitive side in domestic football over the last four years they are surely due a continental triumph.

Goal of the Week

Agustin Allione (18) – Newell’s Old Boys vs Velez Sarsfield

There were only two round of 16 ties contested this week and only two goals were scored, making it fairly easy to pronounce Allione goal’s the best of the week ahead of the Rolando Bogado header that took Real Garcilaso to victory over Nacional.


Player of the Week

Sebastian Sosa (26) – Velez Sarsfield

Allione’s goal secured the headlines, but midfielder Francisco Cerro and goalkeeper Sebastian Sosa were Velez’s most impressive performers. Sosa gets the nod for displaying good handling in cleanly catching a number of shots on target, and commendable bravery, too, anticipating low and high crosses into the area and getting himself ahead of the forwards to claim the ball.

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