It will not be his first game against River
. For
Diego Martínez
it is the ninth one-on-one with the red band team, the second since he has led
Boca
. They faced each other almost two months ago, on February 25 at the Monumental. And that tie had
a morale boost for the team and was the beginning of awakening in the League Cup
, beyond the setback they suffered two games later against Unión. Then,
the coach began to find the team
that ended up getting into the quarterfinals with the last breath against Godoy Cruz.
In the end, against River they played with a midfield that is key to Boca's operation today.
Jabes Saralegui
(21 years old),
Equi Fernández
(21),
Cristian Medina
(21) and
Kevin Zenón
(22) brought freshness with his young blood. On Sunday, at the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium, the Moreno footballer, scorer of the 1-1 goal in Núñez, will not be there. The expulsion for a double yellow (two fouls, especially the first, which are questioned behind closed doors) deprived Martínez of a key piece.
Without Medina, who must serve a suspension date, it will be time for Saralegui's return. Of course, that Sunday in February,
Pol Fernández
(32), who will provide him with his experience,
was not available .
It is true that the presence of the Santa Fe player takes away the explosion of the midfield, although it gives him a neater start, a function that 'Equi' usually takes care of in the absence of the experienced midfielder who played for Godoy Cruz and Racing, among others.
Martínez is not risking his position or anything close to that
, but the result in Córdoba will have a lot of importance in the institutional aspect, fundamentally. The League Cup is not Boca's main objective, it is clear. The Sudamericana turns out to be far from being the obsession of the Libertadores, but it captivates more. Also, the Professional League. However, facing River is obligatory.
And just as Juan Román Riquelme boasted of having turned history around at the beginning of his management (then as vice president of Jorge Amor Ameal) which coincided with the end of
Marcelo Gallardo
's cycle , in the last classics Martín Demichelis's men predominated . Falling by the wayside would be a shock for the idol president. And a blow from sports, just when the team begins to show its identity.
“It is beautiful to be able to have a final instance in the next game. We will seek to compete and win. And move on to the next phase, with what it means, such a special match for everyone,” said the coach about the duel with River.
He also remembered the last Superclásico and emphasized:
“It was an open, attractive match. We went to compete on the rival's field in a very good way. We did it well and with intensity, dividing control and the ball. Expectations are the best. "We have three finals left to try to be champion, knowing that it is a very special match
. "
There was a question in the press conference that made Martínez laugh, when he was questioned about the possibility of including three forwards. Then, Demichelis complained about the opponent's approach. Boca ended up playing with
seven defenders
(Luis Advíncula, Cristian Lema, Nicolás Figal, Lautaro Blanco, Lucas Blondel, Nicolás Valentini and Frank Fabra). Of course, not everyone was at the rear, but there was one chicane that didn't go down well. Even River's own coach apologized to his xeneize colleague privately.
One of Boca's virtues, precisely, is that the team has
an offensive proposal from the tenure and is sharp in attack
. And
Edinson Cavani
even recovered the goal
. That one-on-one with River was the last game of their long drought. From February 25 to the present,
the Uruguayan scored 8 goals in 8 games
. Before his hattrick against Belgrano, when he broke his negative streak, he had hit 3 shouts in 19 games.
Boca is energized, with faith and arguments. And aware that the Superclásico can take the necessary leap to win a championship.