With the season drawing to a close, September was packed with significant events and results and matters at both ends of the 30-team league are beginning to look clearer. Crucero del Norte’s time in the top flight is up, Nueva Chicago look destined to join them and Boca Juniors are now firm favourites to lift the league title. Additionally, the Copa Argentina nears its climax, the Copa Sudamericana is in full swing and Gerardo Martino has overseen another couple of Argentina fixtures as La Albiceleste prepare for World Cup qualification. As ever, we look back on this and select the manager, player and goal of the month for September….

Only a few rounds remain in the AFA’s colossal 30-team Primera and it is now Boca Juniors to lose after Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s side opened up a six point lead at the top. Despite suffering defeat to rivals San Lorenzo in La Bombonera, a hugely important Superclásico win in the Monumental and the inspirational Carlos Tevez have hauled Los Xeneizes into a commanding position. Luck has also been on their side and the victory against Argentinos Juniors, where Tevez escaped punishment for breaking the leg of Ezequiel Ham could be a crucial moment in the title race.

San Lorenzo and Rosario Central have probably now lost their chance and no round was more damaging to both than the remarkable round of clásicos. Los Cuervos lost to Huracán while Central were held by a hideously out-of-form Newell’s side and the result saw Boca begin to open up their lead. Elsewhere that weekend, Independiente were the big winners, celebrating a 3-0 victory over Racing in the clásico de Avellaneda as Mauricio Pellegrino continues his impressive start to life with El Rojo.

Just as the league is reaching boiling point, so too are the cup competitions with the Copa Argentina down to the semi-finals and the Copa Sudamericana reaching the quarter-final stage. Three Argentine clubs still remain, with only Lanús failing to progress from the last 16.

The Selección were also in action and Gerardo Martino’s side responded to the Copa América disappointment with a 7-0 friendly victory over Bolivia and a 2-2 draw with México. The matches didn’t provide a great deal of insight but the debuts of Matías Kranevitter and Ángel Correa provided a glimpse of Argentina’s future and both youngsters retained their place in Tata’s squad for this week’s World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay. The road to Russia begins here and in addition to these two, Martino has added Juventus’ Paulo Dybala to the group. Lionel Messi will miss the matches though injury but it is still paramount that La Albiceleste get off to a good start in what is a gruelling qualification process.

That was September in brief, and now for the important stuff….

Manager of the Month

There are a few contenders given the impressive runs that several of the Primera managers have overseen in recent weeks but none can claim to have done more than Quilmes’ Facundo Sava. Los Cerveceros had managed just four wins from their first seventeen fixtures before Sava took over but have been transformed under the former Fulham player. Eight wins from ten unbeaten matches have seen Quilmes shoot up the table and become a team that few in the Primera will fancy playing. September has brought three wins and a draw, with Temperley surprisingly been the only side to prevent Quilmes notching ten straight wins.

Player of the Month

If one player resembles Facundo Sava’s revival at Quilmes it is centre-forward, Claudio Bieler. The 31-year-old arrived at the start of the season after being released by MLS side, Sporting Kansas City and struggled initially, scoring only four goals in the seventeen matches prior to the arrival of Sava. In the ten proceeding matches, Bieler has struck eight times, with four during September, directly resulting in three Quilmes victories. The striker has explained that Sava’s Quilmes has been a dream to play up top for with such a flowing supply but his finishing and forward play has been excellent and given the side a much needed potency.

Goal of the Month

September yielded a number of quality goals from young Denis Rodríguez’s strike for Newell’s, Nicolás Aguirre’s thunderous free-kick against River and Carlos Tevez’s stinging drive against Argentinos Juniors but the beauty of Giovani Simeone and Banfield’s goal against Crucero del Norte cannot be surpassed. The level of opposition is as weak as it gets in the Primera but nothing can be taken away from the swiftness and precision of the Banfield attack. The one-touch passing completely opens up their inferior opponents and on-loan River striker and son of El Cholo skips around the keeper to score September’s goal of the month.