Miguel Borja confessed to Clarín: what he felt before converting the penalty for River to win the scandalous Superclásico

The first training session after the Superclásico is over and Miguel Borgia walk slowly through one of the fields at the Ezeiza RiverCamp. It goes to the left corner area, where clarion awaits your meeting. It’s a beautiful morning, full of sunshine. And upon arrival, the Colombian, dressed in a black training suit, greets and, between smiles, pronounces a phrase that reflects what he lives River these days after the heartbreaking triumph Mouth. “It’s a different week, very nice”expresses and shows his white teeth.

Borja shows an inner peace that he found after scoring River’s penalty against Boca. And – you know – turning a goal into a Superclásico scores you. Much more if it is that of victory. And in the face-to-face conversation with this newspaper, the 30-year-old striker, born in the Colombian Caribbean, relived that moment.

“They were moments of great tension, if I say otherwise, I’m a liar. I had tension and pressure. But I never hesitated to catch the ball.”Borja asserted as confidently as he executed the penalty. And he continued: “All the moments came to mind when I had to define this type of play, in which I sometimes failed but many times I converted. When I caught the ball I started thinking about where I was going to put it, don’t make me come upThese things came to my mind. And I gave it to Palavecino so that our rivals would think I wasn’t kicking him, so they wouldn’t bother me. But I knew he was mine. I felt like I had to kick it. And it went very well.”

-For context, was that the hardest penalty you had to take?

-Yes, it was the most difficult penalty. She had thought he had to do it yes or yes. I had trained last week in case I had that chance. I took a lot of penalties, converted and missed but luckily I scored this one which was very important.

-And was it the most important goal of your career so far?

-Well, I have converted many, but I always think of those who will come. I can say that for now it is the most important of this year.

Was it criminal?

-Yes of course. No doubt. Furthermore, we had played an excellent game, we played clearly, we arrived with many chances, Boca have important players, but we knew how to work so that they didn’t hurt us.

-In a moment you were alone in the celebration. When did you realize the mess that had been made?

-Yes, Ja. They ruined my party. I became aware of the scandal while I was celebrating, but I had to continue doing my thing, I was doing something else. There were a lot of players on the pitch and I tried to stay away from them. I was at my party then I saw there was a fight and I stood there not believing my eyes and was away from the whole situation. Also, I was confident that I could score a goal, so I wore the shirt I showed (with the inscription “The glory belongs to God”) and I’m told it’s selling very well. I hope you keep selling.

-I don’t know if you knew that with this goal you joined the group of Colombian players who scored against Boca for River, including Juan Pablo Ángel, Radamel Falcao, Juanfer Quintero and Rafael Borré. What generates you?

-Yes, I knew something about that statistic. I have seen them a lot, especially Falcao. I remember the goal he scored (in 2007) in the classic, and everything that was happening hit me at that moment. Now it was my turn to prove it and these goals are special, it’s very important to score against your team’s usual rival. And it’s difficult, but the glory of God helped me convert.

– You often name God. And before going in to play you kneel down to pray. Why are you doing it?

-Here in Argentina, the question of the cabals is always very handled and I take it from the point of view that one humbles oneself (refers to the act of kneeling) before a God. I have always wanted to humble myself before God so that His greatness is reflected on me later. It’s what gives me confidence, fills me with motivation and a lot of confidence. I know some don’t believe, but I know there is a God and it is better to believe than not to believe, so I believe.

-And now you will surely ask God to play more…

It is normal that when you are not playing you want to play more. But what remains is to work, not sulk, but work and be available to the technical staff. I know that if we play with just one striker I have fewer chances, but with the quality of the players there is, it makes sense to play with many midfielders. Both me and Lucas (Beltrán) and Salomón (Rondón) try to give the best to the team when we have to play. I hope we play with three forwards so I can play, haha. But the scheme with an attacker has paid off and we are on the right track.

-Why do you do custom workouts at a sports center other than the one you work at River? What are you looking for?

-I’ve wanted to do it since last year, but I didn’t have the opportunity because I was adapting to the climate here and with the help of my rep I went to train alone to improve my game problems, especially in having more speed on the ball decision making. These are things you don’t see a lot, but those little decisions are what make all the difference.

-What was the hardest thing for you in adapting to Argentina?

-The weather. I went from over 40 degrees in Barranquilla and I came here and it touched me sometimes three, four, five degrees and it was complicated. And also at the pace of the game, which is totally different from that of Colombia.

-How much influence did Gallardo and Demichelis have so that you could adapt to the pace of the game?

-Very. While they have different methods, both are always focused on winning and playing with quality and greatness. And we have excellent players who help us do very well. Marcelo won a lot and had a lot of weight and gave us confidence to enter the field and let him think. And Martín comes from Europe, with the culture of methodical work there and he has things that he has instilled in us that are very important.

-Is it difficult for them to escape the championship?

-We are doing well but there is still a long way to go. On Sunday we will have to face a good rival like Talleres, who are getting a big win, we know they have very good players on the flanks, the top scorer of the tournament (Michael Santos), is having a good campaign, but we have to play our part, go out to make a great game, and finish the match with eleven players, which in the last few games has put us in trouble with the sending offs.

-What does playing in River mean to you?

– You always dream of playing for the big teams. Being here is a dream and I have to make the most of it. It’s something unique because when you get to the stadium and see it, you’re shocked to see so many people. And while many are not having a good economic momentum, they make a great effort to be there and encourage, which is good to point out. And my family is very happy to see me every weekend in the River shirt. But now I feel better and dream of becoming champion and bringing joy to my family.