July began with heartache once again for Argentina with Chile lifting the Copa América on home soil after defeating Gerardo Martino’s side on penalties in the final. After the disappointment of the World Cup it is another missed opportunity for Lionel Messi and his teammates and preparations to go one better in 2018 begin now. In spite of this there was little time to dwell as domestic football got back underway and the major story was the return of Carlos Tevez to Boca Juniors. Ten years after leaving the 31-year-old packed out La Bombonera for his presentation and then made his second debut in blue and gold as Boca remained at the top of the Primera table.

Across town, River welcomed back a couple of former heroes in Lucho González and Javier Saviola and said farewell to another when Pablo Aimar decided against a comeback of his own. On the pitch, things have been going pretty well and Marcelo Gallardo has guided River to a Copa Libertadores final for the first time in nineteen years and they are now 90 minutes away from lifting the biggest prize in South American football. Next Wednesday, Liga MX side Tigres arrive to the Monumental for the second leg but River are firm favourites to lift the trophy.

This month also provided our first major clásico since the restart of the season and for the fourth time in a row, Rosario Central stole the bragging rights in the clásico Rosarino. Eduardo Coudet’s have been dropping too many points to remain at the top of the league but where it mattered they did enough to see off Newell’s.

Sadly the month ended on a sad note after Lanús defender Diego Barisone was killed in a car crash travelling back to Buenos Aires from Santa Fe. Our thoughts go out to his family – RIP Diego.

So that was the first month back in Argentine football after the mid-season break and as always we select our manager, player and goal of the month….

Manager of the Month

Independiente endured a difficult first half of the 2015 season which ultimately cost Jorge Almirón his job, in part due to the lofty expectations that the club had set itself at the start of the campaign but also due to a record that saw El Rojo win just four times in the opening fifteen matches. Former Estudiantes boss, Mauricio Pellegrino was chosen as the man tasked with the job of lifting Independiente, despite some objections from sections of the crowd, and so far the 43-year-old has been an undoubted success. Four matches and four victories and even more surprising, three clean sheets has seen El Rojo climb to seventh in the table and suddenly things in Avellaneda look a lot brighter. This form along with some decent acquisitions, including Uruguayan international Diego ‘Cebolla’ Rodríguez, and talk of qualifying for the Liguilla at the end of the season and possibly a return to the Libertadores has begun.

Player of the Month

If there has been one player who has embodied Independiente’s upturn in form it is 21-year-old Martín Benítez. The young forward was a periphery player under Almirón, showing flashes of talent in his cameo roles but too often running into dead-ends and lacking any end product. However, since the restart Pellegrino has put faith in the academy product and this has been repaid in full. A brace in the win over Olimpo, a superb assist against Temperley and another double against Atlético Rafaela have seen Benítez emerge as a central figure for Independiente. Even with the recent additions to the squad it is impossible to consider dropping the youngster. His pace and trickery have seen him play wide on the left and up front but now brimming with confidence Benítez is proving to be a real handful for opposition defences.

Goal of the Month

There were a few good goals during July but when Jonathan Calleri almost managed to upstage Carlos Tevez on his return to La Bombonera you knew his goal was a little special. In his effort to give Tevez the simplest of goals, the young striker nearly fluffed a wonderful opportunity against Quilmes but his improvisation to lob the goalkeeper with a rabona when the ball rolled back to him was an incredible moment of skill.