How inconsiderate.

If this were the Premiership, they'd have made things boring and wrapped up the title race with games to spare, so my final Voiceoffootball article would be coinciding with celebrations from the victors. This being Argentina, they're taking it to the wire again.

So, I’m leaving you in the lurch – as far as this column goes, anyway. But more about continuing my Argentine coverage later.

The race is now cut to ‘only’ three teams, with three to play. San Lorenzo still lead, three ahead of Boca and five clear of Estudiantes. The champions need a minor miracle to get back in it – but then look what happened in December, when they took the Apertura.

River and Arsenal both won, enjoyable results for different reasons. For River, a convincing 3-0 victory at Gimnasia was their first in four games. It had been preceded by an open letter from Daniel Passarella to the fans, asking them to give the endless chants for his head a break, and take some pressure off the team. They did, and it worked. Arsenal’s 2-0 win away to Central, meanwhile, ensured their participation in the Copa Sudamericana, and put them on the brink of a place in the 2008 Libertadores.

I wrote last week that Racing will have a say in the destination of this championship, and that began against San Lorenzo, an easy 3-0 win for the leaders. Ramón Díaz’s boys edge ever closer to a title which, if you’d predicted it midway through the Apertura, would have drawn howls of laughter. Boca kept hold of their coat-tails with a win over Gimnasia Jujuy but Estudiantes may finally have let the trophy slip from their grasp. On a remarkably high-scoring weekend (36 goals from ten matches), it was their encounter with Newell’s which stood out – a 4-4 draw in the Estadio Municipal.

Next up for Estudiantes is a visit to Racing in El Cilindro. The home side probably wish the season would just end. Their only contributions to the stats during the defeat to San Lorenzo were two red cards, for Franco Sosa and Maxi Moralez.

Down in the relegation dogfight, Colón beat Belgrano 3-0 away, whilst Quilmes only prolonged their own agony by beating Banfield. They can still escape automatic relegation, but it'll be very tight – a point from three matches for either Godoy Cruz or Belgrano would condemn Quilmes. And even if they do that, they'll be in the relegation playoffs. Nueva Chicago beat Lanús 2-1 to ensure that their points-per-game average will be, at the very least, fractionally above 1 (Quilmes can't now get more than 1), and thus the worst they can fear is a playoff against the 3rd or 4th placed side from the division below – not that that's an especially enticing prospect.

Boca’s impressive 2-0 win in Asunción against Libertad, which included a fine goal from Juan Román Riquelme, sees them into the semi-final of the Libertadores, starting on Thursday, away to Cúcuta of Colombia. Cúcuta, a tiny club, have been stunning during this Libertadores campaign, demolishing fellow semi-finalists Grêmio in the group stage and scoring some amazing goals, and Boca don't have happy memories of Colombian opposition, having lost on penalties to Once Caldas in the 2004 final in arguably the biggest shock in the competition's history.

There's even intrigue of an international nature – who will win the Spanish title? Lio Messi and Javier Saviola at Barcelona, or Gonzalo Higuaín and Fernando Gago with Real Madrid? The Spaniards’ tardiness is such that even in European leagues, Argentina has to wait another few weeks before all the questions are answered.

As Voiceoffootball departs, it’s a cliffhanger for all concerned in the southernmost reach of football's global empire. Will San Lorenzo get to the promised land with ‘Saint’ Ramón? Will Boca get the chance to rub River’s noses in another continental crown? Will Racing salvage some pride, or Independiente qualify for either Copa, after dreadful campaigns? And come the domestic break, how will the national side fare in the Copa América?

On a personal note, it's been the start of an adventure writing about all this. Public thanks to the editorial team at Voiceoffootball for publishing me, and you the readers for putting up with me. For Argentine coverage, at least, this isn't the end. Whether you knew Argentina and its football before, or discovered it through this column, you can keep up to date daily after Voiceoffootball’s closure on my own site, Hasta Lo Gol Siempre, which from next week will also be home to these ramblings.

I hope to see you there. Until then, as the Argentines say, chau, amigos.

25th-27th May:
Independiente 1-1 Argentinos Juniors
Nueva Chicago 2-1 Lanús
Estudiantes de La Plata 4-4 Newell's Old Boys
Godoy Cruz de Mendoza 0-2 Vélez Sarsfield
Boca Juniors 3-1 Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy
Rosario Central 0-2 Arsenal de Sarandí
Banfield 2-3 Quilmes
San Lorenzo de Almagro 3-0 Racing Club
Belgrano de Córdoba 1-3 Colón de Santa Fé
Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata 0-3 River Plate

Copa Libertadores 2007

24th May:
Semi-final, second leg:
Libertad (Paraguay) 0-2 Boca (1-3 agg.)