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Monday Kickoff: Boca and River draw amid crowd violence; Vilanova to visit New York for tests; and more

BocaJuniorsRiverPlateSuperclasicoErviti1 (Reuters)

By DAN KARELL

The passion that exudes from the Superclasico took over on Sunday night during the 1-1 draw between Boca Juniors and River Plate at La Bombonera.

River’s talented youngster Manuel Lanzini put his side up inside of 45 seconds into the match with a perfectly placed header, but Boca were able to claw back into the match, scoring through the side-footed shot of Santiago Silva to tie things back up.

The match took a turn for the worse though in the second half, as fans reportedly lit firecrackers, threw flares on the pitch, and tried to climb over the chain link fence separating the supporters from the playing surface. The game had to be stopped while riot police could sort out the issues, leading to over 12 minutes of injury time at the end of the half.

Boca, who dropped to 18th place in the Argentine Premier Division standings with the result, have gone winless in their last 11 league matches and lost defender Guillermo Burdisso to a red card just before full time. River currently sit in third place in the table, four points behind Lanus at the top.

Here are some more stories to kickoff your week:

VILANOVA TO TRAVEL TO NEW YORK FOR MORE TESTS

For hopefully the last time as he finishes his cancer treatments, Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova is traveling to New York for doctors to check on his progress.

Vilanova spent ten weeks this past winter in a hospital in New York, after doctors discovered a tumor in his throat glands. The Barcelona boss told media after the team’s 4-2 victory on Sunday that he would just be in New York from Monday until Thursday.

Despite Vilanova missing time on the Camp Nou sidelines, the team continued their flaming hot domestic form and could clinch the La Liga title on Wednesday if Real Madrid do not defeat Malaga.

JUVENTUS CLOSING IN ON HIGUAIN

Italian club Juventus wrapped up their 29th Serie A title, the most all time in Italy, but they’re not satisfied with the current squad.

Last Wednesday, manager Antonio Conte and two other directors from the club were spotted at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium to watch Real Madrid in the Champions League, and according to reports out of Italy, Juventus are focusing on signing Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain.

The price of the 25-year-old is reportedly upwards of €25-30 million, but reports out of Spain have made clear that Higuain is available for other clubs in order for Real to make a big splash this summer.

QUICK KICKS

Former Chelsea and Portugal midfielder Deco has failed a “B” sample of a drug test, leading to an initial 30-day suspension for the Fluminense player. (REPORT)

Manchester United are tracking 20-year-old Colombian midfielder Juan Fernando Quintero, currently on-loan at Pescara in Serie A. (REPORT)

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been suspended for the final three matches of the season after spitting at an opponent. (REPORT)

Galatasaray have won their second consecutive Turkish League title. (REPORT)

Hull City have earned promotion to the English Premier League. (REPORT)

Liverpool are close to signing defender Douglas from FC Twente on a free contract. (REPORT)

Scotland Premier League Player of the Year winner Michael Higdon was arrested for alleged assault just hours after winning the award. (REPORT)

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What do you make of these reports? What did you think of the Superclasico? Do you believe Vilanova will see his team clinch the title next Sunday? Do you see Higuain moving to Italy?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I wonder whether Jose Mourinho, the (cough) Special (cough) One who could only beat Dortmund once out of four games this season, feels any shame these days for acting like a spoiled arrogant brat and poking Tito Villonova in the eye and gloating about afterwards it like a bully? Just asking.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEMR2lMirMM

    Reply
  2. Hull City is back in the Premier League. I wonder if they’ll try to pry Phil Brown away from his current gig at League Two Southend? We could all use a few laughs next year.

    Reply
    • Buy Jozy outright instead of a loan this time? Though doubt theyd be able to afford him since they’ll need atleast 5 to 6 incoming players and who knows what their war chest is.

      Bet they wished they had bough him for 6 million pounds when villareal was offering that.

      Reply
      • I see Jozy going to a bigger club than hull, like west brom, fulham, west ham, someone like that. Or go else wear in the continent maybe to fiorentina or a german team

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