Beyond the controversy, Boca took a step back in the Monumental and now must return to focus with 8 victims

It was a step backwards, beyond the controversy and the feeling of anger that seized Boca for the penalty taken by Darío Herrera. When the foam subsides, after Raúl Cascini’s statements that stirred up the waters of a turbulent Sunday, Jorge Almirón will have to redeem the positive that had been his short cycle up to the Superclásico. Ultimately, it is a separate league. From now on coaches and players should focus on Belgrano, next Sunday’s rival at the Bombonera.

It won’t be easy, of course, because he will face that duel against Cordoba, in principle, with eight victims. In addition to the three sent offs who suffered due to the turmoil in the final (Nicolás Valentini, Equi Fernández and Miguel Merentiel) he will also be unable to count on Alan Varela and Pol Fernández, both suspended. Valentín Barco is already conditioned by the Under 20 who will play the World Cup from May 20 (also Lautaro Di Lollo) and Marcos Rojo, who is working hard for the ligament tear in his right knee, is still in the cotton.

And they won’t be the only ones who are out of the race at this point in the week. It remains to be seen what will become of the lives of Luca Langoni, Darío Benedetto, Frank Fabra, Bruno Valdez and Juan Ramírez. That is to say that, for now, he has a third of the squad in unfavorable conditions.

What should Boca reproach themselves for the duel against River? Who didn’t dare to be braver. The row of five that he planted in Núñez is not usual in Almirón’s ideology. It’s true that he used it on his debut against San Lorenzo. So, he made more sense because I’d only done two workouts. That afternoon of April 12 didn’t work either. Did you respect your opponent in the red band too much, aware that he is the leader of the League and has a good offensive circuit? They achieved it too, despite the fact that neither Luis Advíncula nor Barco took off. They just did it early in the second half, the team’s best moment in the Superclásico.

Any method is valid and dying in your boots doesn’t always seem like a smart thing, but everything indicates that the 5-3-2 will pass. The 4-3-3 had given him good results. Even when he took on the leading role or at least injured he got a backlash, as happened in one-on-one with Racing.

In the seven games in which Almirón led, there was enough to highlight: the defensive disposition, the intensity of the pressure after the defeat, the inclusion of Barco and the position of Advíncula as a winger, a success. He gave power to Pol Fernández, more committed to recovery. None of this was observed in front of River.

While Cascini’s words continue to make noise, the campus will try to move on. “We are tired of being fooled”, said the former midfielder, a member of the Football Council. It is the only official word that will be heard in these hours. The search will be focused on not losing focus. In short, Boca was very far from River (19 points away) and the big bet is Libertadores. In the rest of May, he will play four matches in a 14-day span. The body and mind must be set to this goal.