Home Is Were The Playing Time Is

It's official, Juan Roman Riquelme is going back to Boca Juniors on a loan deal that will last until the end of the season. Jose Manuel Llaneza, speaking on behalf of Villarreal, said that the former Argentine international remains a Villarreal player and that the loan agreement calls for the midfielder to return to Spain and play out the last two years of his contract. That being said, Llaneza admitted that the situation was not as open-and-shut as it might look, and that he really didn't know what would happen come June.

As was mentioned yesterday, Fabricio Coloccini has found himself in the middle of a tug of war between San Lorenzo and River Plate. When the list of new players (scroll down) was made official this morning, both clubs put the defender down as their own. According to press reports out of Buenos Aires, the player's agent has a week to settle the matter and negotiate a loan deal with one of the clubs.

Speculation in Argentina is that River have made a play for what seemed to be San Lorenzo's player because of animosity towards San Lorenzo's new coach, Ramon Diaz. In two different stints, he was a River player for five and a half years. As River's coach, he won five league titles, the club's last Copa Libertadores trophy, and the Supercopa Sudamericana.

Since being let go by the club (it wasn't an amicable ending), Diaz and current River coach Daniel Passarella have had a couple of run-ins. Most recently, they didn't shake hands when the two teams met during the Torneo de Verano. Diaz called Passarella classless, while the River boss returned the favor by calling his opposite number a disgrace.

Villarreal agrees to loan Riquelme to former club Boca [International Herald Tribune]
The last list of reinforcements (in Spanish) [La Nacion]
Another round between River and San Lorenzo (in Spanish) [Ole]

-ac