One Weekend, three games, all the information.
Another weekend is here, and I think its clear what we are all going to do. First, read this preview. Second, watch a lot of football!
This weekend. we will visit one of the BabaGol's favorites rivalries, the derby of Sarajevo, we will have another decisive match in the psychotic league of Algeria and finally, prepare yourself to one the best matches in South America, El Clásico of Uruguay.
Grab your coffee, maté and vodka and join the trip!
(All the hours are in CET local time)
Saturday, 1600, FK Sarajevo – Željezničar (Bosnia and Herzegovina Premijer Liga)
First, let´s check one of BabaGol clásico games, the Sarajevo derby. On Saturday, FK Sarajevo and Željezničar will play a crucial match in their chase for the title. They both rank in the first two places, and as the perfect city rivals, they are divided by class of fans and parts of the city.
FK Sarajevo dreams about a first title since 2007. For years they are considered as a big club in Bosnian football, but not big enough to win titles. Everything changed two years ago, when Vincent Tan, the Malaysian owner of Cardiff, successfully bought the team, and they are just getting better and better. This season they are in 1st place with 59 points. Don't miss Leon Benko, who played in Germany and Belgium, Krste Velkoski, the team's top scorer with eight goals, and Dejan Bandović, who leads one of the best defenses in the league.
Željezničar wants to win the title once again. They have the most championships in Bosnia with five titles, and now they wish to win also title no. 6. They are in 2nd place, just one point behind FK Sarajevo, knowing that winning this match would also be revenge for their defeat in the previous derby. The key players are Riad Bajić, 21 years old youngster who scored 14 league goals, Juan Manuel Varea, Argentine who came back to Bosnia after two years in Azerbaijan, and Srđan Stanić who played for the team in the past eight seasons.
A clash of classes, a hot derby, and a direct title battle – Don’t look for action anywhere else.
Saturday, 1800, USM Bel-Abbès – ASO Chlef (Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1)
Let’s have another visit to Algeria, where the tightest league in the world is running. This time we will observe the bottom of the league. Three teams will get relegated in the end of the season, and the difference now is just six points between the 2nd place and the 14th place.
In one word: A mess.
USM Bel-Abbès promoted last season from Ligue 2. The team is one of the best teams in the second division’s history, as they won it five times. Despite eight wins and 32 points, due to this crazy season at Ligue 1, they are in last place. The team's top guns are Jessy Mayelea, a Dutch-Congolese player who left the Netherlands after five years, Jonathan Matijas, who played previously in Romania and Thailand, and Merouane Abdelbasset Guerriche, who was one of the dominant players last season's promotion.
ASO Chlef is much more experienced than Bel-Abbès. They still remember their championship in 2011, when they finished first with 13 points gap from the runner-ups. Now they are in the 14th place, fighting for their survival, but as we know – every win can change the ranking dramatically. Keep your eyes on Noureddine Daham, who previously played in Germany for three years, Saad Tedjar, the team's top scorer, and Mohamed Zaouche, who plays for the club since 2004.
Algeria gives us another great match, In the most unpredictable finish line for the season. Any bets for the relegation battle?
Sunday, 2100, Peñarol – Nacional (Uruguayan Primera División)
One of the best games you can catch in South America is the Clásico of Uruguay. Some would say, it is the real Superclásico, more than Boca Juniors and River Plate.
There is no doubt that Peñarol is one of the biggest clubs of South American football. The team won five Copa Libertadores titles and 49 domestic league silverwares. The last Apertura season went quite bad for them, even though they finished third, and now they wish to qualify to the championship playoffs as they rank in first place of the Clausura. Their manager, Pablo Bengoechea, won seven championships as a Peñarol player, and now he wants to win his first title as a manager. Pay attention to Marcelo Zalayeta, the former Juventus and Napoli player; Antonio Pacheco, the 39 year old who won the league eight times with Peñarol (the first was in 1994), and Pablo Migliore, one of the best goalkeepers in the league.
On the other hand, Nacional, are hoping to continue their great season. In the Apertura they finished with an impressive record of 14 wins out of 15 matches, ranked 1st with a gap of 10 points from the 2nd place and 17 from Peñarol. They didn't manage to repeat this record, but even from the 4th place they still have a chance to finish 1st in the Clausura as well. Their major names are Iván Alonso, who scored 40 league goals in 53 games since he arrived, 20 of them in this season; Gustavo Munúa, who played for a decade in Spain and Jorge Fucile, who came back after seven magnificent years in Porto. However, above all is one Álvaro Recoba, who even in the age of 39 keeps on scoring and scoring.
So don't waste your time, just sit back, relax and enjoy the concert.