Boca Juniorswho is not having a good time in the Professional Football League (LPF) and who questions the continuity of his DT Hugh Ibarrawill try to raise its level in the Argentina Cupa tournament he won four times when he faced this Saturday Olympus of Bahia Blancawhich competes in the Federal A.
The match, valid for the 32nd final of the competition, will be played this Saturday starting at 19:00 at the Centenario stadium, in Chaco, will be refereed by Lucas Comesaña and broadcast by TyC Sports.
The group xeneize He didn’t have a good week after going three winless appearances, with a draw against Defensa y Justicia (0-0) and two consecutive defeats against Banfield (1-0) and Instituto de Córdoba (3-2), results that have sown doubts about Ibarra’s ability and continuity.
The former Boca right-back is having the worst week of his coaching cycle and if he doesn’t win against Olimpo he could be sacked before the next LPF match, which will be against Barracas Central on Saturday 1 April.
Of course, Boca’s problems are not only linked to Ibarra, but are accentuated by the moment of weakness that several players are experiencing at the same time, such as Frank Fabra, Guillermo “Pol” Fernández, Darío Benedetto and Sebastián Villathe latter failed with a thunderous whistle when he was substituted on Sunday evening in the second half of the match against Cordoba.
Ibarra’s insistence on players who don’t respond to him is one of the most controversial points and the DT must have taken note of it because only Benedetto “Pipa” will start to face Olimpo and the others will leave the team, as happened before with the Peruvian Luis Advincula.
Ibarra will appeal to the rotation of the team to try to turn the situation aroundand therefore Facundo Roncaglia, Nicolás Valentini and Agustín Sandez will play in defense for Nicolás Figal, injured, Bruno Valdez, called up to the Paraguayan team in the FIFA appointment, and the Colombian Fabra.
in midfield Cristian Medina will enterone of the most requested by the fans, and Juan Ramírez will also be there despite being in the questioning group, and Ezequiel “Equi” Fernández and captain “Pol” Fernández will leave.
Ibarra will return to the 4-4-2 tactical scheme instead of the unproductive 4-3-3 and will use Benedetto and the Uruguayan Miguel Merentiel as forwards, while the young Luca Langoni will not play due to a muscle ailment.
The “Xeneize” team will try to recover its best version in a tournament in which it is the first winner to advance to the stage, in which case it would meet Barracas Central or Estudiantes de Buenos Aires, from the First National.
His rival, Olimpo, led by Arnaldo Sialle, is in good spirits after beating Sol de Mayo, from Viedma, for the second round of the Torneo Federale A last Sunday, and is also excited by the possibility of facing Boca with all the repercussions that this generates.
The most famous player of the Bahia team is from Entre Ríos Facundo Affranchinoa 33-year-old midfielder who started his career at River.
Coach Sialle defined the starting line-up and in the week before the match he was concerned with motivating his players so that they could face the match against Boca in the best possible way.
“If you have to lose, you don’t have to change shirts with the opponent. If my players want the Boca shirt, they can buy it later at a sports house”Sialle said.
The record between Boca and Olimpo stands at 22 games, with 13 wins for the “Xeneizes”, two for the “Aurinegros” and seven draws.
The only time they have met in the Argentine Cup was in the 2012 edition which Boca won after beating Racing Club in the final (2-1).
On that occasion they played at the Bicentenario de Catamarca stadium and after the draw (1-1) Boca, led by Julio Falcioni, won 11-10 on penalties.
Meanwhile, the last time he played an official match was on 27 August 2017 for the Super League, at La Bombonera, and beat Boca 3-0 with two goals from Benedetto and the other from Pablo Pérez.
Probable formations
Boca Juniors: Javier Garcia; Marcelo Weigandt, Facundo Roncaglia, Nicolás Valentini and Agustín Sandez; Cristian Medina, Alan Varela, Juan Ramírez and Martín Payero; Miguel Merentiel and Dario Benedetto. DT: Hugo Ibarra.
Olympus of Bahia Blanca: Martin Garcia; Iván Antúnez, Sebastián Álvarez, Martín Puchetta and Juan Perotti; Facundo Affranchino, Claudio Cevasco, Diego Ramírez and Santiago Gutiérrez; Cristian Amarilla and Alejandro Toledo. DT: Arnaldo Sialle.
Referee: Lucas Comesaña.
Stadium: Centenario, from Chaco.
Starting time: 19:00.
TV: TyC Sports.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.