NOBODY SHOOTS ON GOAL
— Ricardo Lorenzo | 27/12/1940 —

After the official round corresponding to the 6th of August was played, which was the last, talking in the newsroom about "football association", we referred to several problems, among them, the number of forwards that do not enter the area, either due to trend, whether for the sake of conservation or because la plancha esta caliente...

That was when a teammate searched the list of top scorers for those who had scored seven or more goals this season.

YOU WIN WITH GOALS.

The phenomenon is not total, but partial and with great inclinations towards development. Different factors contribute to this and we will try to list them, however, first, remembering a curious detail. Some time ago, when referring to the flashy and slow-infiltration game played by the Uruguayan and Rosarina teams, very similar to each other, we lamented the lack of finishing that prevented the achievement of the goals to which these same lines were entitled. We understood, then, that the Buenos Aires, with fewer advances, were more penetrating and thus obtained a greater yield. So matches were often presented where, even though they were played on opposing sides from Rosario and Uruguay, the victory depended on the visitors.

We will not forget that these harmonious quintets, with no fuss, treated the public to a beautiful show. This virtue was always recognized in them, and now, that the years have passed, we will once again revisit these memories to rejoice in their kind evocations. But, with that game, beyond any doubt, our eastern neighbors would never have won the 1924 Olympic Championship, and this is because at the time when Uruguayan football underwent a fundamental change in tactics, which had the greatest influence on the top scorer Petrone, from a mold opposite to that of Piendibene.

You win with goals. After all, it is the figures that rectify merits. And also those who fix positions, those who preside over the collections. The part of a team wants to win. It is logical that this is the case. Competition and rivalry have this purpose. Naturally, if victory can be achieved immediately through a brilliant technical display, so much the better. It's ideal. If this demonstration of beauty were not possible, everyone would opt for the unadorned or arabesque goal, which, in any case, counts as the most brilliant.

BEAUTY AND GOALS.

As an expression of beauty and effectiveness, which is equivalent to bringing together the two factors, nothing seemed more valuable to us than the famous attacking line of Estudiantes de la Plata, which went down in history as "La de 29". This team offered a magnificent spectacle and scored more goals than any other during the 1930 season. It consisted of: Lauri, Scopelli, Zozaya, Nolo Ferreira and Guaita. Only that the memory immediately raises a question: Could this quintet now perform as well as before? I don't know, because times have changed a lot. Defenses are more impenetrable, because men take more care of their employees. Professionalism brought, among others, this inconvenience. Halves who cling to extremes to save their own responsibility and deceive the public with an ostentatious performance; backs who use all their resources to prevent opposing forwards from entering; forwards who do not approach the gate and send the "firewood" to others; the referees who effectively collaborate in the decline and fall of the brilliance of our football.

In Independiente, for example, when Erico doesn't get along with Sastre, De la Mata and Zorilla are the ones who save the situation. At San Lorenzo, the "key" is Lángara; in Boca, Alarcón; at Huracán, Masantonio, and at River Plate, Moreno.