Under pressure and with Boca not starting, Ibarra meets the team before the blood reaches the river

The fall of Mouth in view of Institute at La Bombonera he cut Hugo Ibarra’s unbeaten record at Brandsen 805 and raised the mood due to team malfunction just before the premiere at the Libertadores Cup (The drawing will take place on Monday in Asunción). For this reason, in search of a horizon with certainties on the team’s identity, the coach’s voice appeared on the scene before a trip to the Chaco on the Argentina Cup to face Olympus and try to bring not only a victory: signs are also needed. From the team, from the references, from the performance and also from the technical staff that complement Roberto Pompei and Leandro Gracián. It’s that everyone, under the magnifying glass, must react.

“It was a normal talk, it wasn’t something different from what we always do with the team. It was about football and trying to reverse this situation of two consecutive defeats and we have a chance at the weekend. I have a round trip and I return with the constant group, with self-criticism for the moment. We have not changed the rest day, it was clear that we would train and only the program has been changed. What we talk about with them stays indoors, stays there and for me it will be always so way”Ibarra made his debut in a press conference in which for the first time he felt much firmer in tone, assuming not only the role but also the responsibility for the present of the team that three weeks ago was champion of the Argentine Super Cup.

Ibarra indicated the context, in a year that is also political and with the agitation of the opposition to which are added moments of criticism. “I was a player of this club and I know it perfectly. I am grateful to the institution, to the people and I know the demand there is. You have to flip every day, if you win you have to win again and if you lose, flip it. The management told me given the possibility to lead the institution that I love; I have been here for 8 years and I have done it continuously, preparing myself; a year and a half ago I had to take the Reserve and achieve two titles and I was also faced and we had to be champions in two opportunities, it’s about continuing to fuel goals day after day”, reviewed his time with the first team on stage. A detail: Ibarra is one of the few surnames that has been in the management of Daniel Angelici and that now resists in Boca. He also went through the electoral tremor of December 2019.

Before the Institute, the addition to the fall was the fail (logic) della Bombonera for the progress of the team. And it has much more to do with the operation than with the results, because Boca have won the last two Primera national competitions and won the two classics against River in 2022. The individual level has turned everything upside down and this has been praised in a deeper critique. Even if the big problem, for DT, is to find the answers as he had them in the course of 2022, with a calendar that hastens him with the TIC Tac of the Libertadores playing louder and louder. And there he stopped.

“There are always things to improve. We know that last year was a difficult year, when we took the team it was 14th, we managed to raise it and they (for the team) were necessary participants in the situation to win the title; it was difficult to reach the leader (Editor’s note: Atlético Tucumán were 12 points behind), pass him and once they did, they were deservedly champions, regardless of what one may say or ask questions about the match. This year we have to improve and we work to This”, he underlined recalling how Boca has grown since his arrival after Battaglia’s abrupt departure and with questions about his abilities. It’s not little.

For the coaching staff, in addition to the decline in football there is also a mental component. And while in the Football Council they value the behavior of the team much more than that of the manager, they calmly anticipate a complex scenario. The indications that the vice president left to his people before his trip to Spain and Asunción, for the draw for the Copa Libertadores, should not have led to the anticipated desperation. “No one likes to lose and when Boca loses it transcends much more. You have to be calm, stay calm. We know that we have to improve day by day and when you win you are not the best or when you lose you are the best worst. My essence is to work and nothing more,” said Ibarra, who was talking to whoever he should behind the doors of Boca Predio.

Battle and match against Olympus

In addition to speaking about his situation, Ibarra was also consulted for statements by Sebastian Battaglia (his predecessor in charge of Boca’s DT), who had questioned the former right-back’s intentions to be manager of the club. But in addition to answering him, Ibarra’s message went in another direction so as not to confront him.

“I love Sebastián (Battaglia) a lot, I appreciate him and he is an idol of the club. We share many good things. When you leave football, you choose the path. I have always supported the place where I was, always. I never talked about a coach, never . Nothing that happened, always cheering. I’m grateful for this chance and I think he should be grateful too. I think so and I can’t put those words into his mouth, but I wish him so much.”, was Ibarra’s speech, with highness, for a dart that Battaglia had launched in the last few hours. Today the exDT is working with the opposition of Boca and in the search for a club after leaving the institution in August 2022.

Fellow camp and work in Reserve, despite insistence on making the fight bigger, Ibarra was cautious. But he scored the distance. “I would not give my opinion to a colleague on things of this nature. Everyone does as they please. I have supported and will always support this institution, whoever it is”closed on a day in which his word was not expected but ended up breaking in at any moment.

Depending on Chaco’s game against Olimpo for the Argentine Cup, the coach has no room to think further. And that’s why he emphasized it “I think and have always thought match by match, trying to get the best for the team. First it will be Olympus, then it will be Barracas Central and so on every week”. Even if the continuous changes of surnames in search of an eleven did not finish convincing him.

“Ante Olimpo is a football match. We go with the idea of ​​doing our best and trying to win, without hesitation. What could happen will happen later, I’m not thinking of anything other than the 90 minutes of play, nothing more”. Boca’s DT closed a complex week with many questions. How do you lower the foam? With the usual formula: winning.

For the match against Olimpo, Boca’s eleven will be with Javier García (he is the goalkeeper in competitions of this type); Weigandt (Advíncula is not there, Roncaglia (Valdez is not there), Valentini (Figal has physical discomfort) and Fabra. In midfield he will put Cristian Medina, Alan Varela, Martín Payero and Juan Ramírez, who returns after 5 games. up For the first time he will join the double 9 with Merentiel and Benedetto Langoni and Villa?Since they worked hard during the week they will be kept.