After three rounds of the Apertura, Club Atletico Tigre were dead last, losing all their matches, and managing to look fabulously inept while doing so. Quilmes, who had renovated virtually their entire squad after gaining promotion from the Nacional B last season, were not doing much better in the table, with just two points to show from their three league games. Saturday afternoon’s clash between those two also-rans from the outskirts of Buenos Aires was certainly not the blockbuster match of the fourth round of Argentina’s Apertura. Nor did it appear the most attractive prospect for live viewing, with weather reports indicating that the annual Santa Rosa thunderstorm was due to roll in sometime that evening, but that didn’t stop dedicated football journalists like AFW, South American Football’s Rupert Fryer, and Hasta El Gol Siempre’s Sam Kelly, as well as 17,000 other fans from showing up at Tigre’s boutique stadium in the dozy suburb of Victoria to watch a game that, even at this early stage of the season, could be described as key to the relegation scrap.
Fans had to line up at the windows of a bus parked outside the Estadio Coliseo de Victoria to get a hold of tickets before the match, but aside from that novelty, there was little fuss getting in to the ground. Tigre supporters inside the stadium didn’t seem overly worried by the Santa Rosa hovering on the horizon, threatening to dampen everyone’s afternoon, or by the fact that a loss would have been their team’s fourth in a row. The atmosphere was amiable, even when the Quilmes travelling faithful unveiled a banner referencing Tigre’s ‘friendship’ with third division club Deportivo Moron and Argentina’s recent legalisation of gay marriage. In fact, with all the relaxed laughter and good natured chanting coming from the popular stand, one would have thought that Tigre were undefeated at the top of the table coming into the match, not pegged to the bottom and in serious strife.
As the game kicked off, one fan did sound a tad desperate as he shouted, “Show us your magic, Román!” The recipient of his anguished cry was Román Martinez, the languid midfield playmaker who has just returned to Tigre after a long stint in Spain. Román almost came through for his number one fan as he tested the Quilmes keeper a couple of times early on with bullet headers. Chances came thick and fast for the local outfit, also known as ‘Matador’, as Quilmes players ran around like headless chickens in defence.
Say the word “Quilmes” in Argentina and 99% of people will immediately think of the country’s most popular beer of the same name. Quilmes Atlético Club would kill for the kind of popularity that the ale from its hometown enjoys, but it’s unlikely to reach such levels of veneration anytime soon, especially if its best 11 players look out of their depth against cellar-dwellers Tigre. The Quilmes barra bravas might have been indulging in a few bottles of said product in the lead up to the game, because by the time they noisily made their way into the stadium the game was twenty minutes old, and their team was already one goal down – the product of sustained Tigre pressure in and around the Quilmes penalty area. Aside from his early headers, Ramon Martinez was more of a perceived threat as he loped around the field looking talented but not actually doing much. If anyone could claim ownership of the first half, it was Tigre’s veteran number five, Diego Castaño. A Google search for the words “educated Pac-Man” turns up this video of a chimp playing video games, which is a shame as it is the perfect phrase to describe ‘El Pulpo’ (The Octopus) Castaño, especially based on his performance in the first 45 minutes; spraying floated passes from deep and reading the play well defensively to snuff out any Quilmes attacks.
The second period was a scrappy affair for large periods, with Quilmes playing a 3-4-1-2 which seems to be the default setting at the moment for Argentinian teams with little imagination, and Tigre unsure about whether to sit on their lead or apply pressure in attack, and more often than not doing something in between which basically amounted to doing nothing. ‘The Octopus’ Castaño had gained a little too much confidence in his playmaking abilities in the first half, and was now launching looping long balls into touch on a regular basis. Finally, unpopular Tigre coach Ricardo Caruso Lombardi made the substitution which proved the difference, bringing on Diego Morales, a player who could hold onto the ball for long enough to set up attacks and relieve what little pressure there was on the defence. The skilful Morales scythed through to score an excellent solo goal on 81 minutes, and one minute later set up Tigre's third, meaning home fans could break into the classic chant, ‘Let’s have a minutes silence for the team that’s dead’ at the expense of the visitors.
The 3-0 win meant Tigre leapfrogged a whole bunch of other bottom-dwellers, including Quilmes, to move from 20th to 12th in the table, at least until Sunday’s games are completed, and the fans could go home smiling. Although judging from their conduct throughout the afternoon, they’ll continue to enjoy themselves no matter what this season throws at them.
