Global Courant
While Jorge Almirón was at the press conference, Juan Román Riquelme, visibly upset by the loss to River, went into the locker room to speak to the players. He then waited for the direct technician and chatted with him for a few minutes. Although there is a history of the vice-chairman intervening, his presence in the post-match dressing rooms is also not common. But the defeat in the Superclásico and the Libertadores’ upcoming semi-final second leg against Palmeiras changed the custom.
Every time Riquelme makes the decision to speak to the players, there is a strong message behind it. As usual, there was no shouting or preaching. The conversation was cordial, both with the players and with the coach. He limited himself to emphasizing the importance of Thursday’s meeting in San Pablo. That seems to be the limit for Almirón, who does not fully convince the leading Román, even though he himself appointed him as Hugo Ibarra’s successor.
It is not the first time that Riquelme has intervened violently after seeing something that does not convince him. This time he went straight to the locker room, but twice he didn’t wait to return to camp to give his opinion to the team after losing games.
In November 2021, Boca lost to Gimnasia at La Bombonera. The players had already boarded the bus that would take them to the concentration camp. Román let them go downstairs and had a long chat with everyone. All without the authorization of Sebastián Battaglia, a situation that led to a break with the coach. After the conversation, the team won the semi-finals of the Argentine Cup and subsequently became champions.
There were also discussions with Almirón as a coach. It was after the 4-0 defeat against Godoy Cruz in Mendoza on June 22nd. Riquelme waited for the team in Buenos Aires and met at dawn, worried about the level and attitude of the team.
The conversation took place between 4 and 5 a.m. at Ezeiza’s estate, which was also attended by Almirón and his coaching team. The result was that Boca started a 12-game unbeaten streak, including qualifying for the Libertadores semi-finals.
The turning point came after the crash in the Superclásico. We have to see if it has an effect and Boca wakes up to be able to fulfill his big dream of moving to Palmeiras and reaching the final of the Libertadores, which will be played on November 4th at the Maracana and will allow what he believed to be a step being away from the seventh cup, which was becoming an obsession at the time.
