Boca
's defeat
against
Unión
, last Wednesday,
It deeply affected the spirits of the Xeneizes fans.
Three days after the celebration against Belgrano and Cavani
's three goals
to ignite the hope in the
League Cup
, the team played very poorly in Santa Fe, lost at the end against Tatengue and wasted the chance to climb the league table. Zone B table.
Boca plays poorly and this
football crisis
is so prolonged that it is difficult to establish when it started, or when was the last time it had a reliable team.
Because having a good game does not mean playing well.
Beyond the (valuable) titles or the (valuable) finals of recent years, this sensation was also experienced with Russo, Battaglia, Ibarra, Almirón, Herrón's interim positions and this handful of games under the wing of
Diego Martínez
.
There are nine times that the former coach of Huracán and Tigre led those from La Ribera, with a weak balance of three wins, four draws and two defeats.
But with an addition: those only three wins were against the last three teams in the table,
Central Córdoba
,
Belgrano
and
Tigre
.
"Going to see Boca is like going to the cinema to see a movie that is good. Then we will see how it turns out... but it is good," said
Juan Román Riquelme
, who came out to speak like every time Xeneize suffers in the encouragement for some misstep of the strong.
If the last year of Xeneize is analyzed, this feeling of football crisis translates into two key data:
Boca barely won 8 of the last 33 games
, and the last time they had two consecutive wins
was eight months ago
, on the 24th and 29th. July 2023, when they beat Newell's and Independiente in Avellaneda.
Too much time.
It was the end of a streak of five consecutive victories, which was followed by this drought of 33 that is worrying today.
After the 3-2 against Belgrano, Boca did little in Santa Fe to reverse the negative record.
The first and almost only clear chance came in the first shot on goal, at the end, that shot by
Kevin Zenón
that asked for an angle but goalkeeper Dante Nicolás Campisi was able to make the save to give life to one of the saves of the date.
It was triumph and a prize too great;
but the headbutt from "Mugre" Corvalán came and this blow to the chin.
Diego Martínez made self-criticism after the defeat in Santa Fe. Photo: Marcelo Carroll.
If they want to qualify for the next phase of the League Cup, Boca will have to reverse this situation immediately, and the first stop is the Bravas, the classic against
Racing
in the Bombonera.
The Academy also arrives in need of points, so tonight's duel at 9:30 p.m. has the flavor of a final, with everything it can represent
for whoever wins or loses
.
Boca will suffer from two important absences tonight: on Friday
Chiquito Romero was dropped, due to a blow to the Achilles tendon in his left foot, and on Saturday
Nicolás Figal
fell
, with a sprain in his left knee.
They add to the lack of other players such as
Pol Fernández
and
Ezequiel Equi Fernández
, while
Marcos Rojo
, who did not have minutes in 2024, was called up at the last minute.
The table shows Boca with 13 points in seventh place, three behind
Newell's
and
Lanús
, third and fourth of the four that are accessing the playoffs.
Estudiantes
(who already lost and remained at 18) and
Godoy Cruz
(19, with a match pending) remain as leader and escort.
Boca needs to "win, win and win", paraphrasing Carlos Bilardo, something that has been denied.
After receiving
Gustavo Costas
' team , they will have four Braves games left:
Newell's
as a visitor,
San Lorenzo
at home,
Estudiantes
in La Plata and receiving
Godoy Cruz
.
The shirt is heavy and as long as mathematics allows it, the illusion will always be there.
Of course, Boca at some point will have to play better;
Everyone in Brandsen 805 knows it, from Riquelme and Martínez to the last of their fans.