Matías Bustos Milla
08/16/2021 11:07 PM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 08/16/2021 11:07 PM
Just as a five-minute talk between Juan Román Riquelme and Miguel Angel Russo was enough to seal the coach's return to Boca, a conversation that consumes the same time can define a change of course in the bank.
Throughout this Monday, August 16, holiday, the members of the Soccer Council were waiting for signs that would show them that the Xeneize coach had the strength to move forward and reverse the situation that Boca shows on the playing field and that the numbers affirm : the Ribera club reached a historical streak of 10 games without victories.
For this reason, in the next few hours the call of Riquelme and his companions Jorge Bermúdez, Marcelo Delgado and Raúl Cascini could be given. The strong men of Boca want to listen to Russo. But now the talk could be different: at the club they no longer see Miguel with the conviction to turn the situation around.
They believe that in one or two games the general picture will not change.
They will seek consensus for the end of the cycle or continuity.
They will also speak with Sebastián Battaglia, technician of the Reserve, to see if it can be an alternative.
Of that Boca champion who snatched the Superliga title from River on the last date and to whom the pandemic put an absolute brake, only scraps remain
.
More than a starting eleven emigrated.
Boca did not win in the tournament.
(Photo: Marcelo Carroll).
Individual numbers and individual statistics go viral on social media.
The point is also made in the privacy of Boca Predio, where
the DT and his coaching staff are aware that this new semester had them with too many problems
in a series against Mineiro in which the VAR removed them from the Libertadores, the week of isolation, a new team that is just getting to know each other and an exhausting match against River.
All that is in the folder.
But also that
Boca has not been able to win for ten games
, that he barely scored two goals and that he cannot put together an idea or style that is recognized for at least 45 minutes.
So what happens?
In this year and a half of pandemic there was only a small portion in which the technician seemed to find something new: the youth
.
Cristian Medina and Alan Varela arrived to revitalize the middle of the field
when Campuzano and Jara were no longer standing.
They fought, prevailed and
became a flag of a new team
: much more intense, sacrificed and to which talent would appear in installments.
The return of Agustín Almendra was another good sign,
there was a huge, giant replacement
.
Necessary too.
All kinds of surnames emigrated
, with very different contexts and realities: good sales by Andrada and Capaldo, personal decisions in Tevez and Zárate, termination of the contract in Jara, Buffarini and More.
Almendra and Varela, two that Russo took from the eleven (Photo: EFE).
And the arrivals were given in quantity (Advíncula, Juan Ramírez, Rolón, Briasco, Weigandt and Orsini) that are still making footing.
It happens that
while they get to know and become familiar with the Boca World, the table returns to Russo and company a third to last place
.
And except for the former Lanús, with an inopportune injury that it is difficult for him to resolve, almost all of them already add minutes of filming.
Added to this situation were the conflicting realities of Edwin Cardona (he returned late from the Copa América and between isolation, set-up and his expulsion, he could only play two games) and Sebastián Villa (he decided not to play anymore in the face of a family situation and a possibility of sale abroad). Two surnames of those of hierarchy and unevenness that were not in this scenario either. And a large gap that was not covered: the center-forward. Perhaps the position in which it was most needed, Boca did not add anyone.
Even with all that panorama,
the criticism is directed at DT
.
Because he has already managed two almost complete schools and Boca has not yet come out of his own labyrinth.
But something different happened before Estudiantes: Russo dispensed with all the juveniles, those who had given him oxygen, pressure and something different to his team in slow motion at the beginning of the year.
The Sub 23 of Boca.
He bet on the greats, those of experience and veneer ...
until his rival scored him.
There, just at that moment, he moved the bench of substitutes and threw a handful of players onto the field as a lifeline.
It did not work, but in the networks (that space of collective catharsis in times of empty stadiums) they stopped at that.
Why did Russo break the only thing he had found as certainty?
Weren't Alan Varela, Cristian Medina and Agustín Almendra a better option than Pulpo González and Rolón?
Why the 5 line against non-attacking opponents?
How to solve the lack of goal without a scorer?
The amount of questions abound,.
He spent 30 days during the preseason with a much more agile, intense team, with constant pressure and youthful energy.
After four dates (two were directed by Sebastián Battaglia with the youth) there is nothing of this that he thought.
And except for the good emergence of Juan Ramírez or the fine tuning of Marcos Rojo, high levels are not observed individually either.
That Boca has less squad than before is true.
Also, that he does not have such a bad team.
Cristian Medina, in action against Mineiro.
(Photo: AFP).
The backing behind Riquelme and company exists.
They made it public in recent weeks Jorge Bermúdez (
“Why is it that every time we go to play against River they question the continuity of our coach?”
, Questioned the Employer) and Raúl Cascini (“We trust Miguel Russo and his work ”, He clarified).
His contract was ending at the end of the year, but there was still no talk of a renewal.
But
there is no room for maneuver.
The cycle, which had two Olympic rounds, was sold out early.
Look also
A negative record that is about to fall: Boca de Russo's losing streak was among the worst in history
Estudiantes beat Boca 1-0 without a goal or game and left it at the bottom of the table
