New season, more teams, new stars, same dream

Finally, the long wait is over. Football is back, with a new look and more teams than ever! More is always better, right? Let's hope so anyway.

Newcomers Aldosivi and San Martín de San Juan join the same 28 teams as last year to form the 2025 Liga Profesional de Fútbol, which will take the form of two Copas de la Liga without either actually being a cup competition (stay with me, we'll get there). The 30 participants have been drawn into two zones, from which a total of 16 will progress to the play-off stage a few months from now and begin the quest to be crowned league champions. After that, we will go back and do it again. The same groups, same format, same fixtures, only with home advantage reversed, it'll be dejá vu all over again in Argentina's top flight.

With that explanation out of the way, the burning question: who is going to win the damn thing? After a lively start to the transfer window in Argentina there will certainly be no shortage of contenders. 

Boca Juniors made their pitch for the most eye-catching signing of the season by bringing in ex-Athletic, Manchester United and PSG midfielder Ander Herrera on a free transfer, at a stroke doubling the number of Basque former Spain internationals in the Liga Profesional – though because of the mind-boggling schedule imposed this year, Herrera and San Lorenzo's Iker Muniain will not actually meet on the pitch in the league at least, one of several big fixtures that will be wholly missing in 2025.

Herrera enjoyed his first taste of Argentine football, a 5-0 thrashing of tiny Argentino Monte Maíz in Wednesday's Copa Argentina opener. Unfazed by the living fairytale around him or even the dramatic rescue put in place when a dog got stuck in the murky moat that surrounds part of the pitch at Colón's Estadio Brigadier Estanislao López home, he ran the midfield and did his part to ensure there would be no embarrassing upset on the cards to match Daniele De Rossi's debut defeat to Almagro some years back. Tougher challenges will no doubt follow for Herrera, starting with Sunday's Liga bow against Argentinos Juniors.

Up in Núñez, meanwhile, River Plate continue to spend like the proverbial drunken sailor in search of the team that will deliver Marcelo Gallardo more glory. The Millonario brought in yet another World Cup winner, right-back and scorer of the final's decisive shootout kick, Gonzalo Montiel, and repatriated Sebastián Driussi after seven years away from the Monumental. Enzo Pérez is also back: a month shy of his 39th birthday, the midfielder decided to return to River following a season with Estudiantes.

The Superclásico duo should be tough customers in 2025, but they will have plenty of challengers for the crown(s). The Liga's nouveau riche Estudiantes, flush with dollars from their generous and supposedly altruistic backer Foster Gillett. Returning champions Vélez, albeit without coach Gustavo Quinteros who left for Gremio. The Copa Sudamericana holders, Racing Club, who shed three Colombians in the off-season but otherwise kept their winning squad largely together.

Perhaps it will be Independiente's year? The red half of Avellaneda saw real improvement last year, even if fans were not always blown away by their brand of football, and the Rojo have added diligently so far. Why not Newell's, who have by far the most decorated player in the Liga in their ranks this year with ex-Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Or perhaps it will be none of those teams and, I don't know, Sarmiento de Junín are going to romp to the title. 

The great thing about Argentine football is that the possibilities at the start of the year are almost endless, making it fascinating, required viewing, even with the best efforts of the powers-that-be to make a mess of things.