The xeneize team arrives in Santiago with the Copa Libertadores as their object of desire. They haven’t won it since 2007, with Juan Román Riquelme on the pitch. He goes through the nascent era of Jorge Almirón (he played for the Wanderers between 1994 and 1995), who has just spent five games on the blue and gold bench.
It’s a special week, because there are Libertadores Cup . The third day of the group stage is played and one of the two representatives of Chilean football will have a big challenge. Gustavo Quinteros’ Colo Colo takes on Boca Juniors this Wednesday (8:00 p.m.) the most renowned rival of Group F, in a duel that will have reduced capacity at the Monumental stadium due to the Conmebol sanction, following the serious incidents that occurred against Monagas, and the restrictions of the Estadio Seguro.
While it’s true that the last few days have been moved to Pedrero for different reasons, it’s no less true to point out that the Whites will face one of the most relevant duels of the half. It’s not just any party. One of the giants of the continent visits Santiago, in a moment of transition. Despite the fact that in recent years they have been enshrined several times at national level, the team’s play has not satisfied its demanding fans and neither have the Libertadores campaigns. The blue and yellow team haven’t won Conmebol’s most important trophy since 2007. For the always special ‘Mundo Boca’, it’s been a long time.
How did the bostero team come to play against the Chilean champions? This can be seen as a stage of changes, as there has recently been a turning point in the banking sector. Hugo Ibarra, a man of the house, who took over and ended up staying, left. The intention of the managers, including the historical Juan Román Riquelme (vice-president of the club), was to sign someone who was not from Boca’s kidney. The first target was Gerardo Martino, but Tata’s option failed. Finally, Jorge Almirón, former coach of Lanús and Elche, among others, has signed.
Almirón is not unknown to the Creole milieu. They keep some memories for him, especially in Valparaíso. In his playing days, he was a member of the up and coming Santiago Wanderers. He arrived in 1994 and the following year he was Primera B champion with the caturros. During the 1995 campaign, the trans-Andean player was Buenos Aires’ top scorer with 11 goals.
Boca’s newest coach has the basic tactical drawing on 4-3-3, the one he preferred to use in the five games he led the club. He made his debut on April 12, in a 1-0 loss to San Lorenzo at Nuevo Gasómetro. Then came his first at La Bombonera, which was also a narrow defeat, against Estudiantes de La Plata. From then on, they lost nothing: victories over Pereira and Racing, plus a draw with Rosario Central, at Gigante de Arroyito. Almirón’s five games record a performance of 46.7%.
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In the arc it is fixed Sergio Romero. ‘Chiquito’, vice-world champion in Brazil 2014, took over the goal after the departure of Agustín Rossi, on loan to Saudi Al Nassr until mid-year. Then he will go to Flamengo, with whom he has a pre-agreement. On paper, full-backs should be permanent attacking agents. On the right is the fast Peruvian Luis Advíncula. Of course, against Racing last Saturday, he played higher, like a pointer. On the left side, who landed a job, is the young Valentin Barco, 18 years old. A revelation.
In fixed ones, the axis is Alain Varela . Another product of the xeneize career, the midfielder tries to be the balance of the midfield. Where there are more questions are those that accompany it as interiors. Above, Darío Benedetto has the poster of the starting 9, although he is injured. He has as an alternative to Miguel Merentiel, the one who dreamed of reaching Colo Colo when Juan Martín Lucero left. Boca’s main offensive weapon is Colombian Sebastián Villa, far left, who has long been at the center of a controversy following a complaint of gender-based violence against him. Despite the investigation, he did not stop playing.
The Copa Libertadores is the object of desire of the La Boca store. Not reaching the final means failure. In the local domain, they are far. With 14 games played, they have 18 points (five wins, three draws and six losses). They are 16 units behind River Plate, their sworn enemy, the leader of the Professional League. And next Sunday is the Superclásico, at the Monumental de Núñez.
Boca is the seventh team with the highest valuation of the Libertadores 2023: 79 million euros (data from Transfermarkt). In this article, they are only surpassed by the Brazilian and River casts. Here there is no counterweight with the reality of Colo Colo, whose value is 22 million euros. The most valuable bosteros footballer is Alan Varela: 10 million of European currency.
“We are going to a big stadium (the Monumental), it will surely be a good match, where we will try to compete as much as possible and hope that their players and ours, as well as the referees, can enjoy it. I still have hope that it will be a great match and that we can win,” said Juan Román Riquelme in the preview.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
