Norberto Briasco-Balekian has reached the Clausura semifinals together with Gimnasia y Esgrima

Armenia national team forward Norberto Briasco-Balekian, along with Gimnasia y Esgrima, has advanced to the semifinals of the Argentine Clausura playoffs. In the battle for a place in the final, the La Plata club will face their archrival, Estudiantes.

Gimnasia qualified for the playoffs after finishing 7th in Group B, but in the knockout matches the team managed to produce two surprises, eliminating Unión Santa Fe and Barracas Central in succession.

In the current Clausura, Briasco-Balekian has played in 13 matches, starting in six of them. The forward’s loan agreement with Gimnasia runs until the end of December, after which he is expected to return to Boca Juniors. Nevertheless, he still has a chance to end the year with a trophy — at least by becoming the Clausura winner.

It is worth noting that the system for determining the champion in Argentina remains confusing: recently, Ángel Di María’s Rosario Central was officially declared the country’s champion after topping the aggregate table of the Apertura and Clausura, despite not reaching any playoff final. Thus, by the end of the season, the country may end up with as many as seven “champions” of different tournaments.

As for Lucas Zelarayán’s Belgrano, the team failed to reach the playoffs in either the Apertura or the Clausura.