This week’s title is taken from one of the more under-rated (in my opinion) songs from Sly Stone’s back catalogue. It talks of how things can give different feelings in different circumstances. Over the past few days in Argentina, and in Rosario especially, one club have given their fans very different feelings indeed.

Newell’s Old Boys are one of the prouder clubs in the history of Argentine football. The rosarino school of football is, traditionally, one that’s always been associated with flowing, carefree, spectacular attacking football. Down the years, Rosario’s two clubs, Newell’s and Central, have given the nation (and world) the likes of 1978 World Cup-winning striker and manager Mario Kempes and César Luis Menotti, as well as Gabriel Batistuta, and the tradition continues with the likes of Maxi Rodriguez, Fernando Belluschi and Lionel Messi among those who’ve been brought through in Newell’s academy (albeit not for long, in Messi’s case).

Yet, in the past week, Newell’s fans have been left scratching their heads and wondering whether to laugh or cry. Their team had just ended a run of 14 matches without a win by winning two in a row, when last Thursday something amazing (for the impartial observer) happened. The AFA handed down a 3-point fine for the violent incidents during the 2-1 home defeat to River - the first time a points deduction has ever been implemented for such an offence. The following day, a judge called in to re-evaluate the club’s bankruptcy hearing after the original judge (who’d ruled in Newell’s favour) had passed away, reversed the decision, and ordered the club to pay anywhere between 2 and 8m Argentine pesos (£350,000 - £1.4m), depending on which newspaper you read. If they didn’t, Newell’s Old Boys would be forced into receivership.

So, how did the team respond to this when Friday night arrived? By taking on one of the form sides of the moment, Arsenal - who’d only lost their 100% record the previous week, very unfortunately, to River - and beating them 3-2 away. Oscar Cardozo, the hero of the previous weekend when they’d triumphed with a depleted squad, scored twice and claimed the Man of the Match award. As if the celebrations weren’t going to be loud enough already - three straight wins, after 14 games without any – Newell’s president then announced that, oh look, they’d found the money they owed their creditors, and it would be paid into the relevant accounts within the week. Nothing like the threat of extinction to give an institution a bit of a kick up the a**e, it seems. But with the stress and the strain, has it been a good or a bad seven days to be a Newell’s fan?

I had planned to make Newell’s the sole subject of this week’s column, but nothing stands still in Argentina for long, of course. For one thing, it would be remiss of me to ignore the fact that the national side are now officially (rather than merely in their own heads) the best in the world, after overtaking Italy in FIFA’s new World Rankings for March. That friendly win in France did the world of good for a side who’ve not actually won a meaningful trophy since before the rankings were introduced. England are 6th and Scotland - Scotland! - 16th in the same list, which tells you all you need to know, really.

It’s also very difficult to ignore Martín Palermo, much as my River sympathies lead me to try. You may remember that last week he scored a hat-trick against his first club, Estudiantes. Apparently he felt bad about that, because this week, against their cross-city rivals Gimnasia (those who read my early VOF columns will remember Gimnasia as the villains of the piece when they played Boca during the Apertura), he went one better, scoring four. Between the 6th and 14th minutes he hit a hat-trick, and he capped it off with another midway through the second half. He really must wish he could play La Plata sides every week.

Not to be outdone, another living legend returned this week for River. Ariel Ortega’s last appearance had been in the Summer Tournament match against Racing which I attended in January. Since then, he’s been continuing his battle with alcoholism (Argentine media don’t like to name the problem if they can avoid it, considering it disrespectful, but given that British readers won’t know the circumstances, I have to). Ortega came off the bench with 15 minutes left as River struggled to break down Quilmes - and scored the winner with virtually the last touch of the match. Oh - with his arm. Unlike a certain other short, scruffy Argentine with addiction issues, it wasn’t deliberate, but the hosts weren’t exactly over the moon about it.

River’s fans, on the other hand, were laughing all the way out of the stadium. Winning whilst playing poorly is what champions do, apparently - although they may be worried, in that case, that San Lorenzo, one point ahead of River in pole position, also did exactly that against Rosario Central. What made River’s fans laugh, made their opponents cry. That, at least, was clear-cut.

Spare a thought for Newell’s, though, because they really aren’t sure which option to take right now.

16th-18th March:

Banfield 0-2 Estudiantes de La Plata
Arsenal de Sarandí 2-3 Newell’s Old Boys
Independiente 1-0 Lanús
Rosario Central 0-1 San Lorenzo de Almagro
Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy 0-1 Vélez Sársfield
Argentinos Juniors 1-0 Racing Club
Boca Juniors 5-1 Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata
Colón de Santa Fé 1-2 Nueva Chicago
Belgrano de Córdoba 3-2 Godoy Cruz de Mendoza
Quilmes 0-1 River Plate

Copa Libertadores 2007

14th March:
Group 4

Vélez 3-0 Internacional (Brazil)

Group 7

Toluca (Mexico) 2-0 Boca

Group 8

Santos (Brazil) 3-0 Gimnasia

15th March:
Group 6

LDU Quito (Ecuador) 1-1 River