Boca Juniors 1, Paris Saint-Germain 1 (Boca win 4-2 on penalties)
ARGENTINA’S Boca Juniors headed for Jersey as the first Guernsey International Football Tournament winners and the good news is they could be back again in 2005. Sporting Eventualities’ managing director Iain Mackenzie confirmed the tournament could be repeated next year despite the pathetic attendances for all six games.
It will surprise no one who had seen Jorge Benitez’s wonderful collection of Boca under-18s beat Japan and Glasgow Rangers that the blue-and-yellows emerged winners of the event.
But they still needed to recover from a goal down to Paris Saint-Germain with five minutes remaining and win the match 4-2 on penalties to preserve their unbeaten record at Foote’s Lane in the tournament’s penultimate game on a sultry Saturday evening.
Boca certainly did it the hard way. Firstly, they handicapped themselves by making six changes to the side that whipped Rangers 3-0 and gave a start to most of their fringe players.
They then had captain Victor Galarza sent off early in the second half and fell behind to a brilliant 85th-minute strike from the PSG number nine, Arnaud, that was totally against the run of play.
But with two minutes left, the mercurial Boca winger, Ariel Colzera, conjured up a superb equaliser.
Colzera, on as a sub, curled in a high ball towards the penalty spot, Enzo Gutierrez laid off a perfectly cushioned header and there was Fernando Gago to volley home the equaliser.
Of the three Boca performances, the third was their least impressive, but understandably so given the switches and that it was their second match in 24 hours. But worth the entrance fee alone was the 77th-minute attack initiated by the blind pass by Ezequiel Scarione which freed Colzera down the right flank. Colzera took the ball without breaking stride, left a defender for dead and beat the PSG keeper with his shot.
Sadly for Boca and Colzera, Kbidi was there to clear off the line for the French side who had produced their best performance of the week in a game featuring some spiky tackling and regular yellow cards.
Fewer than 300 were there to see the spectacle, but the organisers were putting a brave face on another empty stadium. Mackenzie said that the low crowds had been the only disappointment for them and all four teams had enjoyed their visit.
‘I think generally they [the teams] will be saying the pitch is good and the island beautiful; they were very happy with the hotels and the practice pitches, but their efforts on the pitch don’t seem to be supported.’
Mackenzie said the continuing row over the appeal of Foote’s Lane as a football stadium did not help.
‘There are undoubtedly some people who have a problem with the stadium.’
But, he warned, if the anti-Foote’s Lane lobby imagines such football tournaments can be staged anywhere else, they had better start thinking again.
‘They are not going to get this level of football played at the Track.’
Mackenzie added: ‘We are most determined that we make it work, but we can only do that with sponsors.
‘It is our intention to look at the sponsorship issue very early on and what we need to do is get a measure of support for 2005 before we make a decision.
‘I still think we have the ingredients here.’
Article posted on 2nd August, 2004 - 12.00am
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