Villa, booed: the day Bombonera got bored of the Colombian

“The best, without a doubt, is Villa. We had to listen for a long time to who made bad decisions or defined bad decisions. Now everyone shits on balls and goals”The words of Juan Roman Riquelme From sebastian villa in June 2021 they were a message of trust and loyalty for the Colombian Boca striker who this Monday at the Bombonera reached 150 games with the blue shirt (he arrived in July 2018, from Deportes Tolima).

It was Román’s first big gesture with the quick cafe striker, right after the post-pandemic rudeness, when Villa went to Colombia without permission and even claimed his mother’s illness with a photo on social media from a sanatorium.

The second one life jacket de Román on the Colombian’s neck came in the middle of last year, just before the League Cup final in Córdoba between the team led by Sebastián Battaglia and Tigre at the time. Villa was the focus of all media attention for having two criminal cases in Justice: one from his former partner, Daniela Cortés, for gender-based violence; the other for sexual abuse by a young woman who had attended a dinner party at the player’s home in Canning. That time, Riquelme bowled the ball out when asked about the Colombian and backed him up again.

The complaints drop (and the media are silent) and Villa continues to gallop with the Boca shirt. For at least three markets he seems to be “the player to sell” on the European market. But the more time passes, the more the vertigo of the footballer born in Bello, Antioquia, almost 27 years ago (it will be May 19) is devalued.

But on Monday something happened that had never happened before: in the 0-0 draw against Defensa y Justicia, Villa was replaced in the 85th minute and a whistle came from a sector (no less) of the Bombonera ringing in the Colombian’s ears; also in those of Ibarra and those of the Football Council.

THE Villadependencia it ended up in my mouth. The apparitions of Luca Langoni (decisive in the last Super League, just when the Colombian was injured), the gradual return of Exequiel Zeballos and the good level of Oscar Romero (plus the arrival of Miguel Merentiel) has put Villa in an awkward position: the Colombian, used to taking shots or closing down every Boca attack, now has someone to share his speed with and when he doesn’t, when he plays for “Sports villa” generates annoyance In his companions (who express themselves with gestures) and in the people, who murmur and now even whistle.

The question is what will happen in the immediate future of the Colombian at Boca. In a year of elections -which are rising in temperature, even if there are 8 months to go- and with the Copa Libertadores ahead, the decision made by the Board can be decisive for the team and for the management. An offer from Europe would leave everyone happy, but what if it doesn’t arrive? What assessment will Riquelme make now? Will you continue to think that Villa is the best player in Argentine football? The people of Boca have already begun to pronounce their verdict.