It has been a few years since Argentina's two most popular clubs - Boca Juniors and River Plate - have won league titles.
As Argentina's Apertura season prepares to kick off on Friday with Arsenal vs. Lanus, nobody is predicting Boca and River Plate will win it this time, but they should at least be in the chase in a country no longer defined by a few powerful clubs.
Boca was the last club to win back-to-back titles, and that was in the 2005 Apertura and 2006 Clausura. Since then, eight different clubs have won the title, culminating with 2010 Clausura winner Argentinos Juniors.
It has been a busy off-season, with reports estimating clubs have spent about $50 million on transfers to bolster their chances.
Boca, which opens on Sunday against Godoy Cruz, has added six new faces including new coach Claudio Borghi, who moved from Argentinos Juniors just days after winning the title. Borghi has also been mentioned as a possible replacement for Diego Maradona as national team coach.
Boca - as usual - will be led by veteran forward Martin Palermo and playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme.
Boca has also added two key midfielders: Damian Escudero moved from Spanish club Villarreal for $1.8 million and Matias Caruzzo moved from Borghi's old club Argentinos Juniors for $2.5 million.
River Plate begins the season faced with the possibility of relegation, which in Argentina is based on a team's record over several seasons.
''It (relegation) bothers us a bit,'' River coach Angel Cappa said. ''But we are not thinking about relegation. Our goal is to fight for the title.''
River has added three key players: goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo from Lazio, midfielder Walter Acevedo from Independiente and forward Mariano Pavone from Spanish club Betis. The club has also added Peru forward Josemir Ballon from San Martin de Porres.
Racing Club, one of Argentina's traditional ''Big Five,'' has fired up its fans by signing Colombian Giovanni Moreno from Atletico Nacional de Medellin. The transfer price is about $4.5 million.
''I know the fans are excited about my arrival,'' Moreno said. ''But I'm also excited about being with a club with the most loyal fans in the world.''
The Argentine league is increasingly bringing in Latin American players from outside traditional countries like Brazil and Argentina.
Venezuelan Cesar Cichero is joining Newell's Old Boys, the first Venezuelan to play for the club.
''Going to play in Argentina was always on my mind,'' Cichero said. ''People there have passion for the game, and it's played with speed, guts and power.''
Argentinos Juniors' new coach is Pedro Troglio. The club has added several new faces including goalkeeper Nicolas Navarro from River Plate and Sergio Escudero from Corinthians of Brazil.
San Lorenzo has a new coach in Ramon Diaz.
At Estudiantes, many of its key players have left - including winger Clemente Rodriguez to Boca - with coach Alejandro Sabella struggling to keep the team competitive. Captain Juan Sebastian Veron will again be the main man.
