The 20 best players of the Clausura Tournament according to Clarín's score: there are three from River, two from Boca, two from the dark horse, and Di María rounds out the list.

The FIFA deadline has passed, and it's time to enjoy and suffer again with the Clausura Tournament . The World Champions League returns on its eighth matchday, the interzonal, and it's time to take stock because then there will be eight more matches in which everything will be decided: who qualifies for the playoffs, who earned a spot in next year's cups, and the two who will be relegated to the Primera Nacional .

In terms of teams, to define the best and worst, it's a matter of looking at the standings or recalling a few matches. Barracas and River Plate are top of the table, Rosario Central is undefeated, Boca Juniors is on the rise, and there are several quietly adding points, such as Vélez , Central Córdoba , and Riestra . At the bottom, several stand out, some committed to relegation, like Talleres , and others, unusual for finding them in those echelons, like Racing and Independiente .

But beyond the clubs, who are the most notable players in this first stretch of the championship, with 103 matches already played? The answer is rife with subjectivity, especially in Argentine football, where not 20 but 30 squads take the field. However, a good parameter to measure is the scores with which Clarín rated each of the 667 players who played at least 20 minutes in one of the matches. Yes, the same scores used to compile the final GranDT score, but in this case measuring only those who played at least four matches.

Before giving the top 20, a brief clarification. Independiente and Platense have to wait for their match on Matchday 6 because the Rojo stadium was closed following the incidents at the Copa Sudamericana. The other asterisk in the Clausura is Sarmiento de Junín and Rosario Central, which was postponed due to rain, but where 45 minutes were played, with performances that were reflected in the scores.

"Expensive, but the best," said an old Argentine appliance advertisement. And the most expensive player in Argentina is Maximiliano Salas , the former Racing forward for whom River Plate spent almost $10 million to add him to its forward line, a record fee in the local league. The Corrientes native quickly demonstrated that Marcelo Gallardo 's gamble was going to be a winning one: he has an average rating of 7.5 points . He suffered an injury but recovered and played in four matches, in which he not only stood out statistically, with two goals and an assist, but also changed the team's image, chosen as the star player against Platense in his debut, and against San Martín de San Juan in the last matchday.

El Muñeco sometimes manages a Formula 1 team, as he has a 1-2 lead among the best players in the Clausura. Behind Salas, the best performer so far in the tournament has been Giuliano Galoppo , another who overcame some physical issues and is getting "into his prime," as they say these days. The player who emerged from Banfield and had a previous spell in São Paulo has scored in four matches and has a 6.75 average in Clarín 's reports: he scored three goals and provided an assist against Lanús , in one of the two matches in which he was chosen as the star player.

The third on the list deserves even more recognition because he's racking up points not in four games but in six: his name is Lucas Zelarrayán . If Belgrano is a team of ups and downs, Chino, who wears the number 10 and returned to his birthplace after ten years abroad, is among the good things happening to Pirata. The star of Armenian roots, with a past in Saudi Arabia and the MLS, averages 6.50 points in the Clausura, was a star on two occasions and scored two goals (one spectacular against Huracán ), all stats that allow Barrio Alberdi to dream of reaching the playoffs and putting up a fight.

In fourth place among the best in the Clausura is Lautaro Di Lollo , Boca 's youth defender who averages 6.50 points in four games and was instrumental in Miguel Ángel Russo 's team ending its historic 12-game winless streak. At 21 years of age, he started in all three of Xeneize's consecutive clean sheets, the last one against Aldosivi , when he scored with a header, and he also started and scored against Unión , in Leandro Paredes ' debut. Thus he went from being just another player to earning a spot in "the 11 by heart" for the blue and yellow team.

The Clausura starting five still needs to include Mauro Pittón , the Unión midfielder who, at 31, is enjoying one of the best moments of his career. He played 90 minutes in Tatengue's seven matches, averaging 6.43 points and scoring two goals, including a brace in the rout of Instituto in Alta Córdoba, when he was crowned a star player.

In the top ten of the Clausura season, we find a Central Córdoba striker, striker Gastón Verón (6.33 points); the top goalkeeper on the list, Franco Armani (6.33 points); another world champion, Leandro Paredes (6.33 points); another surprise, Javier Ruiz (6.29 points), from Barracas Central; and in 10th place, another player who stands out with his saves and unbeaten records, Ignacio Arce, from Riestra.

From 10th to 20th in this ranking, the next best players are Mauricio Martínez , Unión 's star ; Ignacio Perruzzi , one of San Lorenzo 's kids; Rodrigo Aliendro , reborn at Vélez ; Gastón Hernández , another from Ciclón; Ever Banega , one of the best at Newell's ; Alan Lescano , that cheeky star from Argentinos Juniors ; Rodrigo Auzmendi , a revelation at Banfield ; and Juan Miritello and César Pérez , mainstays of Defensa y Justicia. The best for last.

It was clarified that this ranking was subjective and subject to the tastes of the journalists who analyzed each match, so it's no surprise to see Ángel Di María ranked 20th. Fideo had no trouble adapting to everyday football, and in the seven matches he's played with Rosario Central , he's averaged 6.14 points, in addition to three goals. Well, goals. Two penalties and a dream free kick in the derby against Newell's, when Clarín named him a star player and gave him a 9... but even giving him a 10 would still be a bit short.