Memorable Mess in Argentina - NYTimes.com Like the ending to a Jorge Luis Borges story, the final weekend in Argentina's Clausura championship entertained those who enjoy dipping their toes in the surreal. After a must-win match, San Lorenzo coach Ricardo Caruso said, "Me gusta el quilombo," which roughly translates to "I like the mess and madness (of being in this situation)." Nothing can describe the experience of being an Argentine fan, never mind a player or coach, better. The quilombo of this past season in Argentine fútbol can be observed from a mere glance: arguably the biggest club in the country - River Plate - earned promotion back into the first division, while the first division's self-proclaimed smallest club - Arsenal de Sarandí - won the league for the first time in its 55-year history. But like so many of Borges's stories, Arsenal de Sarandí"s incredible run was a short story, stretching over Argentina's peculiar four-month, 19-match Clausura tournament. The annual Clausura, beginning in February and ending in June, supplements the Apertura, another 19-match tournament that begins every August. With two league winners every season, one might expect the meaning attached to each achievement to diminish. Argentine fútbol's unnecessarily complex, even bureaucratic system, however, tends to supply drama and subplots galore that make any attained success worth appreciating. Arsenal's club president, Julito Grondona, was delighted with his club's Clausura title. This is a huge joy, something fabulous. The smallest club in Argentina are champions, the one with the fewest followers," he said to reporters after the match. Julito Grondona is the son of current Argentine Fútbol Association president, Julio Grondona, and while Arsenal is the smallest club in the first division, Julio's association with the club does not make the club any more popular. Julio Grondona has served as one of Sepp Blatter's trusted compatriots as FIFA senior vice president, and his character has been tainted with corruption and charges of anti-Semitism. Beyond Grondona, the idea of the smallest club in Argentina's first division winning a title is romantic, but the truth is that the scenario leading up to the final week was so enticing that Arsenal's 1-0 home victory against Belgrano on Sunday was nearly anticlimactic. Tigre was tied in the Clausura standings with Arsenal going into the final weekend, and there was the unprecedented possibility that Tigre could - almost ineffably - win the league and still be relegated to Argentina's second division. Tigre, a club from the Buenos Aires suburb of Victoria, was suffering from the consequences of Argentina's bizarre three-year relegation average system that was introduced in 1982. The system, referred to as the "promedios" system, helps the bigger and traditionally more consistent clubs stay afloat in the first division, knowing that they can recover after one or even two bad seasons. On the other hand, it forces newly promoted clubs to perform immediately, without the benefit of the "promedios" parachute. This was introduced directly after San Lorenzo, one of Argentina's Cinco Grandes clubs, was relegated. This past Sunday, San Lorenzo defeated San Martin San Juan, 3-1, to avoid immediate relegation, but now the two clubs will play an additional match against one another in a relegation play-off. Tigre did not win their final match, so it did not need a playoff with Arsenal to decide who would win the Clausura. But it did manage to stay in the first division with a 2-2 draw at home against Independiente, thanks to other results that ensured Tigre would not need to partake in a relegation playoff either. Tigre Manager (and Sean Penn look-a-like) Rodolfo Arruabarrena was more than content with the result, stating beforehand that survival was definitely more important than winning the championship. The biggest club in the first division, Boca Juniors, did not win the league; they finished in fourth place despite holding a lead in the Clausura standings for the vast majority of the tournament. But similar to how a sixth place finish in England's Premier League complemented Chelsea's UEFA Champions League trophy, Boca Juniors could still be crowned the champions of South America. They will face Brazilian club Corinthians, and it will be the Buenos Aires-based club's 10th appearance in the final of the Copa Libertadores. The relegation/promotion playoffs still need to be played, but most clubs" fates have already been decided. Banfield and Olimpia fans may be drinking their sorrows away, but Quilmes - the omnipresent beer in Argentina - has definitely been flowing regardless of the emotions associated with the consumption. After all, Quilmes Atlético Club - sponsored by Quilmes (who else?) - is also joining River Plate in direct promotion into the first division. This past season filled the average Argentine's soul with moments of unquantifiable enticement, matching the unabashedly neurotic lifestyle in Argentina perfectly. The madness, the mess, and the unnecessarily complex give Argentine fútbol its identity, which all unequivocally loyal fans are tied to until death. Eric Beard is a writer for a number of publications, including his own, "A Football Report." Follow him on Twitter, @BeardEric