Hi, my nickname is Mishaal Bint.
In this blog I will write articles or I will upload music, videos, news, articles of different disciplines or anything related to the culture and the reality of this place of the world. I hope you will enjoy an open window to this culture portrayed by this blog and, hopefully, you will travel soon here to visit our region.
Argentine hooligans, known as Barras Bravas, have been blamed for many deaths and injuries in a succession of incidents of football-related violence in recent years.
At least 14 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in fights between rival fan groups in just the last year and a half.
And with rival gangs at major clubs such as Boca Juniors fighting among themselves for control over activities such as control of the sale of merchandise outside stadiums, ticket sales and even alleged cuts of player transfer fees, authorities are struggling to break the power of the gangs.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- River Plate was relegated to the Argentine second division for the first time in its 110-year history Sunday, sparking ugly street battles between police and fans with dozens injured inside and outside River's Monumental stadium.
The drop came after a 1-1 draw with Belgrano in the second leg -- Belgrano won the first leg 2-0 -- of a demotion playoff. Mariano Pavone scored in the sixth minute for River, and Guillermo Farre tied it in the 62nd.
Violence broke a minute before the match was over. Angry fans pelted players with objects thrown from the stands, and police replied with high-powered fire hoses.
AP Photo/Ricardo MazalanPolice spray water at River Plate fans to keep them from jumping over the gate onto the field at the end of Sunday's match. River Plate was relegated to the Argentine second division for the first time.
As fans were pounded with jets of water, River Plate's players huddled on the pitch, many in tears, including goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo.
The mayhem quickly spread outside River's 50,000-seat stadium. Alberto Crescenti, head of emergency medical services, said at least 55 people had been injured, some of them police.
"Right now there is no fatality," Crescenti said.
Police used water cannons outside the stadium immediately after the match, hoping to disperse fans quickly. Fans who poured out of the stadium faced police with batons and shields at every exit, while attack dogs were ready and helicopters hovered over the stadium.
The area outside the stadium, located in the leafy northern suburb of Nunez, looked like a war zone with police battling hand to hand with River Plate hooligans, who are known by the colorful nickname "Los Borrachos del Tablon" -- the Drunks in the Stands.
Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas, and brought in mounted units to try to keep order.
Young, angry fans responded by throwing rocks at police, setting fire to rubbish bins and vehicles, and ripping down metal street barriers. Smoke also billowed from one end of the stadium with reports concession areas and other parts of the stadium had been set on fire.
Fans were also seen ripping up stadium seats and using parts of them as weapons in fights.
A half-dozen ambulances entered the stadium area about 45 minutes after the match ended, with live television coverage showing medics working on the injured and street fights erupting just a few feet away.
As the troublemakers were driven away from the stadium, there were reports of stores and shops being broken into on one of Buenos Aires' most famous thoroughfares -- Avenida Del Libertador.
Fearing this kind of violence, Argentine authorities deployed about 2,200 police -- reported to be the largest security operation for a football match -- to control the crowd of 50,000.
Suggestions to play the match in an empty stadium were turned down by interior ministry officials after consulting with the Argentine Football Association and its president Julio Grondona.
The violence was predicted. On Wednesday, the first leg in Corboda was stopped for 20 minutes early in the second half after River Plate hooligans ripped through a fence and raced across the field taunting and pushing River Plate players.
One half of Argentina’s famous duo of football clubs is on the brink of the humiliation of relegation from the country’s top flight.
River Plate, who boast a haul of trophies that would be the envy of any club in the world, will need to overcome a 2-0 deficit against Belgrano at El Monumetal this week.
While the club lays claim to 33 national titles and two Copa Libertadores crowns, current manager Juan Jose Lopez could forever be remembered as the man who took Los Millonarios into the second division for the first time.
However, despite losing the first leg of the relegation/promotion play-off, River Plate are clear favourites to win in front of a home crowd.
bwin prices River Plate at 57/100 to notch some kind of victory in 90 minutes, while the draw is priced at 12/5 and odds of 9/2 are available on another shock win for Belgrano.
The result in the first leg may have come as a shock to football betting fans around the world, but those with a keen interest in the Argentinean domestic game may have seen it coming.
Going into the first leg, Lopez’s side had not managed a win in four games, drawing three in a row and going into the final on the back of a 2-1 loss at the hands of Lanus.
By way of contrast, Belgrano have won three of their last five matches and will be full of confidence going into this final match of the season.
Lanús defeated River Plate 2-1, and led the team from Núñez to the relegation play-off against Belgrano. It will be the last chance of the historical team to stay at the premier football league.
Lanús' Silvio Romero opened the score at 30' of the first half of the game, but River's Erik Lamela managed to tie the result only 2' after the beginning of the second half. Although the partial result did not help River to leave the relegation area, it gave hope to the team from Núñez.Nevertheless, Leandro Díaz left River Plate without hopes after he netted Lanús' second goal in the 47' of the second half.
Possible match line-up:
River: Juan Pablo Carrizo; Jonathan Maidana, Alexis Ferrero y Adalberto Román; Paulo Ferrari, Matías Almeyda, Roberto Pereyra y Juan Manuel Díaz; Erik Lamela; Mariano Pavone and Leandro Caruso.
Goalee: Juan José López.
Lanús: Agustín Marchesín; Carlos Araujo, Santiago Hoyos, Paolo Goltz y Luciano Balbi; Mauro Camoranesi, Agustín Pelletieri y Guido Pizarro; Diego Valeri; César Carranza o Mario Regueiro and Silvio Romero.
Puerto Madero was once a decrepit port area, but it has recently been rejuvenated into the wealthy sector of the city center. The zone is decorated with shiny high rise buildings, manicured river walkways, and streets which all pay homage to important women in history. Impressive government buildings are also sprinkled through the neighborhood, making it a popular place to live for expats working in governmental positions. The boardwalk framing the river is home to an array of excellent dining options as well as one of Buenos Aires’ universities. Beyond the waterway is a grouping of fancy apartment buildings, an eclectic mix of boutique shops and a large outdoor summer concert series arena. Due to the recent remodeling, living is more expensive here. An average price for a one bedroom/one bath will start near the US$ 1,000 range. The recent boom has also affected real estate prices, making what was once one of the cheapest markets now one of Buenos Aires’ top-end real estate investments.
A little bit of history....
The 1990s, local and foreign investment led to a massive regeneration effort, recycling and refurbishing the west side warehouses into elegant houses, offices, lofts, private universities, luxurious hotels and restaurants that conform to a gallery of options for this new district in a city that grew up turning its back to the river. Led by the 1999 opening of the Buenos Aires Hilton, luxurious hotels, state-of-the-art multiplex cinemas, theatres, cultural centres, and office and corporate buildings are located mostly in the east side
Puerto Madero has been redeveloped with international flair, drawing interest from renown architects such as Santiago Calatrava, Norman Foster, César Pelli and Phillippe Starck, among others. Today one of the trendiest boroughs in Buenos Aires, it has become the preferred address for growing numbers of young professionals and retirees, alike. Increasing property prices have also generated interest in the area as a destination for foreign buyers, particularly those in the market for premium investment properties.
The neighborhood's road network has been entirely rebuilt, especially in the east side. The layout of the east side consists currently of three wide boulevards running east-west crossed by the east side's main street, Juana Manso Avenue. The layout is completed with some other avenues and minor streets, running both east-west and north-south, and by several pedestrianised streets.
Every street in Puerto Madero is named after women. The Puente de la Mujer (Women's Bridge), by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is the newest link between the east and west docks of Puerto Madero; a museum inaugurated in 2008, the Fortabat Art Collection, itself resulted from an initiative by Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat (the wealthiest woman in Argentina).
Puerto Madero currently represents the largest urban renewal project in the city of Buenos Aires. Having undergone an impressive revival in merely a decade, it is one of the most successful recent waterfront renewal projects in the world.
At Puerto Madero Dock 2 (between Azucena Villaflor and Rosario Vera Peñaloza - teacher and La Rioja educator) buildings belonging to the Universidad Católica Argentina stand successively to the west, and the Faena Hotel + Universe (first hotel designed by Philip Starck in South America) is located to the east of Dock 2. Located on the corner of Aimé Painé (Mapuche Princess and indigenous rights activist) and Rosario Vera Peñaloza, the modern Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza was inaugurated in 1996 and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who under the title of Stella Maris, or "Star of the Sea", is the patron saint of the Argentine Coast Guard. The docks aligned with Dique 2, between 1400 and 1500 of Avenida Moreau de Justo, are mostly occupied by various apartment buildings and offices of the Universidad Católica Argentina and its Pabellón de las Artes (Arts Pavilion), a space for art showings with access from the pedestrian side of the dock. Here, there are some bars and coffee shops.
View of Puerto Madero in 2010
New high-rise construction
High-rise condominium towers along Dock 3.
Yacht Towers under construction along Dock 4.
Numerous new residential high-rises of up to 50 stories have been built facing the Rio de la Plata since 2000. These include El Mirador of Puerto Madero Towers, Renoir Towers, El Faro Towers, Chateau Tower of Puerto Madero and Mulieris Towers amongst others. Many other high-rises that have recentlybeen inaugurated include the Le Parc Tower and Hilton and River View Towers. Office and hotel high-rises are also being built such as the Repsol YPF Headquarters and the Conrad Buenos Aires Hotel & Resort, whose construction is slated to begin at the end of 2008 and completion scheduled for late 2010.
Additionally a St. Regis Starwood Hotel is being built in the first dique, where the famous nightclub Opera Bay was formerly located, and is scheduled to open in 2013. A large Jumeirah Polo resort will also feature a hotel in Puerto Madero, working conjointly with polo fields outside Buenos Aires.
Transportation
The recently inaugurated 2 km (1.3 mi) Puerto Madero Tramway line serves the area, running parallel to Alicia Moreau de Justo Avenue (along the ward's western side); however, the neighborhood is still not well-connected to the city's transit network. Few bus routes run through Puerto Madero, no subway line reaches it and there are currently no official plans to extend the subway network to the neighborhood despite planned further extensions of the tramway slated to link the Retiro and Constitución train stations.
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