The soul, the heart, the head, the grenade: El Clasico Rosarino

Ahead of the latest edition of the Clasico Rosarino, Newell’s Old Boys’ president Ignacio Astore met with his counterpart from Rosario Central, Rodolfo Di Pollina. Joined by city councillors outside a monument celebrating the creation of the Argentine flag, they were urging fans of both clubs to “give this match the peace it deserves”. Away fans have been banned in Argentina since 2013, a result of rising hooliganism and over seventy deaths since the turn of the century. Both clubs want to be able to welcome opposition supporters to their stadiums, not just for the derby, but for every fixture. “The problem is that sometimes you can’t control the crowds,” said Di Pollina.

I was recently speaking to Jamie Ralph, the voice of the Newell’s Old Boys English language Twitter account, and he made the argument that watching football in Argentina is a far more family-orientated experience than England. There’s not much of a drinking culture before or during games, there is a noticeably greater proportion of female fans, and it is common for generations of families to go to games together. I once went to watch River Plate play and had to go through four phases of security checks before I was allowed in El Monumental. Ralph, I thought, made a good point. And then Rosario Central fans got the grenades out:

https://t.co/0civoZULgV

— Newell's Old Boys – English (@Newells_en) March 20, 2022

This was Central’s first mistake of the day. Everybody knows grenades are old news to Newell’s, ever since Marcelo Bielsa threatened to pull the pin if the Barras Bravas, a group of ultras, didn’t clear off from his doorstep after a 6-0 defeat to San Lorenzo. The Newell’s players were given a reminder of the legacy they represent when 20,000 fans turned Estadio Marcelo Bielsa into a burning hell of pyro during last week’s ‘banderazo’, the traditional open ‘training session’ to wish the players luck ahead of a Clasico. “Clasicos are played with other weapons,” Newell’s captain Pablo Perez said ahead of the game. “The soul, the heart, and the head, that’s how to play them.”

There were echoes of Leeds’ win over Wolves in the game’s key moments. Newell’s goalkeeper Ramiro Macagno went down needing treatment more than once, especially after smashing his face against the head of teammate Martin Luciano when trying to claim a cross. Somewhere across the Atlantic, Mateusz Klich was holding a bag of frozen peas to his cheek, telling Macagno it’s only a scratch. Macagno toughed it out, knowing his replacement on the bench was twenty-year-old rookie Felipe San Juan.

Both teams tried their best at recreating the pinball of Leeds’ three goals at Molineux, but crucially only Newell’s took their chance, new signing Juan Manuel Garcia giving the bouncing ball a Luke Ayling smash into the net to score a second half winner. There could have been more, Newell’s were like Leeds, refusing to take their chances to kill games off. A counter attack put Ramiro Sordos through on goal, but rather than square a pass to his teammate for a tap in, he shot with the conviction of promotion season Pat Bamford, putting the ball higher and wider than seemed possible from inside the box. The commentator replied to the miss with an appropriate one word question: “¿Que?”

After scoring the only goal of the game, Garcia slid to the corner tearing at the badge on his chest. The celebrating players were quickly surrounded by riot police creating a wall of shields to protect them from objects being thrown from the, uh, families in the stands. When the final whistle confirmed Newell’s first win at the Arroyo since 2016, a run described in El Grafico as ‘years of drought and frustration’, their players and coaching staff sprinted onto the pitch, only pausing their celebrations to ask for a minute’s silence to commemorate their victory in the home of their rivals.

Pablo Perez, Argentina’s answer to Michael Doyle, was leading the party. The 36-year-old returned from suspension after being booked four times in the opening five fixtures to captain Newell’s. He was subbed off in the second half after collecting another booking, prompting El Grafico to publish an article titled, ‘How many yellow cards has Pablo Perez received in his career?’ He’s not far off the one-in-two record strikers envy for goals, collecting 175 in 405 career appearances. He is the most booked player in Newell’s history over the course of three spells with the club. Willer Ditta only joined Newell’s in January, arriving as a relative unknown from Colombia, but is quickly becoming a cult hero. “He’s been fucking outstanding,” was the exact phrase of Jamie Ralph. Ditta continued endearing himself to his new fans, whipping his shirt off and roaring expletives at the sky.

Central’s supporters were more bothered by their own team, chanting for the sacking of manager Kily Gonzalez, a member of the Valencia team that beat Leeds in the Champions League semi-final and an Argentina international under Bielsa. Rodolfo Di Pollina was clearly listening. Gonzalez’s post-match press conference was cancelled, and it was announced he had left the club later that evening.

Simply incredible scenes now in Rosario as a huge group of Newell’s fans have taken to the streets outside the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa to celebrate the Clásico win.

This is a club like no other ♥️???? pic.twitter.com/HLvBSN5JHQ

— Newell's Old Boys – English (@Newells_en) March 20, 2022

Banned from visiting Central’s ground, thousands of Newell’s supporters were celebrating on the streets around Estadio Marcelo Bielsa. It was new manager Javier Sanguinetti’s first Clasico Rosarino. “Derby days are gifts to the fans,” Sanguinetti said. “And today every Newell’s player played like a fan.” ⬢