The challenge of Boca and River: the two giants of Argentina are preparing for a 2024 that presents difficulties

The years 2024 will be opposite Mouth and of River. The presiding cast Juan Roman Riquelme will have to console himself by contesting the South American Cup in what will be a new beginning Diego Martinez as a coach. In Núñez’s group, however, Martin Demichelis He will try to put the criticism behind him in command of a squad rebuilt after the departure of important players. The goal: compete better in Copa Libertadores.

Boca: new era and the attempt to reinvent the hook in modern times

The top ten workouts Diego Martínez of Boca They are starting to provide some clues about what might happen in 2024. And the brightest sign might be the recovery of the snag figure, that figure in which he shone like no other. Juan Roman Riquelmethe president-elect who opted Gigolo to replace Jorge Almirón.

Whether or not to play with a hitch seems to be a discussion anchored in the 2000s. The figure has not fallen into disuse: it has been reconfigured. In modern football there is no place for lazy talented, the one who watched and rested when the ball wasn’t at his feet. So sacrifice must be added to talent. “The effort is not negotiated, neither on the part of the attackers to press, nor on the part of the defenders to play. I have always been a collective player, I don’t mean it as something individual; I don’t understand life as something individual. It is something collective, where everyone must count. Here we are all important and we relate to the ball, it is also a question of how we understand life, it seems to me. It’s about sharing, that the ball belongs to everyone, it doesn’t belong to just one.”Martínez said in an interview with Clarion in 2022.

Martínez will therefore not be looking for a Riquelme for his Boca 2024 model, but a player with deployment, who knows how to connect with the attackers and who often enters the goal.

For the debut in The friendly match against Gimnasia y Tiro on Saturday in Salta, the coach could possibly include Lucas Janson as a link behind the two attackers Darío Benedetto and Miguel Merentiel. The characteristics of the former Tigre and Vélez don’t seem ideal for the role, but by trying you won’t lose anything. It is worth remembering that Martínez has already experimented in his previous clubs: in Godoy Cruz he did it with Martín Ojeda and Ezequiel Bullaude; in Huracán, with Juan Gauto.

The commitment to Martínez’s involvement is surprising because in Tigre, where he showed his best version, he almost never played with that figure. In the Matador de Victoria the 4-4-2 came from memory, with Equi Fernandez and with Prediger in the middle and with Colidio and Retegui in attack.

Martínez appears to be a romantic and pragmatic coach in similar proportions. He learned the first thing by doing training in La Masia in Barcelona; The second thing, in his career in the role: he has managed in all categories of Argentine football.

Defensively, the teams Gigolo They usually stop with 4 players and Boca will be no exception. Advíncula-Figal-Red-Fabra It comes from memory, but the insertion of Cristian Lema will put pressure on Figal. We also need to see how Fabra will react after the disappointment that his expulsion in the Libertadores final against Fluminense generated among the fans.

Boca is looking for a central midfielder (Federico Redondo and Fausto Vera are in the running) because last year Jorman Campuzano’s performance was not good. The permanent candidate for the position is Ezequiel Fernández, who will only arrive after the U-23 Olympic qualifiers in Venezuela.

With the departure of Valentin Barco, Pol Fernández and Ezequiel Bullaude They would be the sides of the central steering wheel, Equi. The interrogated Juan Ramírez and the youth players Jabes Saralegui and Mauricio Benítez They are the alternatives.

This is the feeling Christian Medina (he will also participate in the Under 23 Olympic Qualifiers) is the player best suited to play the role of hitchhiker or mixed midfielder. The one born in Moreno 21 years ago had his maximum performance when he played behind the attackers or inside on the right. With Almirón he ended up forming the band in that sector which took a back seat. Janson is a bet to keep an eye on, while Vicente Taborda struggles to gain some minutes.

Above, Cavani and Merentiel They start out as the ideal couple. Martínez hopes in Luca Langoni and intends to recover Darío Benedetto, with investigations by foreign teams. Exequiel ZeballosMeanwhile, he will not be available for the first semester due to the injury to the anterior cruciate ligament and the external meniscus of his right knee.

“Boca makes you get the most out of every person, because this is what the institution asks of you. What we will try is to win every weekend and compete in every competition. “Boca forces you”the DT confessed on the afternoon of his presentation.

We see the first shots of Martínez’s Boca. An alternative is to recover the amount of the hitch. In the end, with or without a shirt, Boca will have to excite the fans, those who will watch the year pass without the possibility of winning the Libertadores…

River: reconstruction necessary with the maximum objective in the Libertadores

Martín Demichelis plans for 2024 in the United States. In Bradenton, where the Millonario team carries out the pre-season, Micho designs his team for a busy year, in which Núñez’s club will face 6 competitions, but will focus on Copa Libertadores.

With the restructuring of the squad, given the decline in players there has been, the coach will try to find more tranquility after a year of transition in which, beyond the ups and downs, River won two local titles. Now, without neglecting the national tournaments, attention will be turned to the international level.

“You win, you draw and you learn”was one of Demichelis’ main phrases in 2023. Now the time has come for him to put into practice what he learned last year during his first experience as coach of a professional team.

Because of this, they will aim first of all to define a training that has to do with their thinking. And with full knowledge of the players, he will try to adapt the characteristics to the systems he decides to use.

Demichelis’ favorite formation is 4-3-3. “I really like that system, with its variables”he said in the interview given Clarion last year. So, it is interpreted that it can be flexible. And that elasticity will be given by the movements of the players.

For example, in the match against Rosario Central in Córdoba, Facundo Colidio He didn’t play wide as a left winger and instead played centrally, behind the 9. And in the final of the Champions Trophy in Santiago del Estero, the former Tiger played as a centre-forward, with Pablo Solari to the right tip e Claudio Echeverri hookup. He stopped a 4-3-1-2 and the width on the left was given by one of the two Esequiel boat when he opened or Enzo Díaz are his projections.

So Demichelis, in principle, thinks of a three-player midfield, with a central midfielder and two interior players, one of whom is complementary to the midfielder and supports him in the second half and the other (Barco) is more free running. It can also happen that Barco is a left winger and adds another midfielder to form the 4-3-3 or it can also happen that the scheme changes to a 4-2-3-1, especially at the beginning of the season.

The big challenge will be how to replace Enzo Pérez and Nicolás De La Cruztwo fundamental players in the team’s structure, for the experience of the native of Mendoza (he went to Estudiantes de La Plata) and for the dynamism and intelligence of the Uruguayan (he left for Flamengo). Matías Kranevitter and Rodrigo Aliendro they would occupy those places, even if they too struggle to enter them Nicolas Fonseca and Manuel Lanzini. And if Barco was extreme, the other midfielder would be Nacho Fernandez.

In defense things are clearer. The goalkeeper is Franco Armani and the four-man line will be with him Sebastián Boselli, Paulo Díaz, Ramiro Funes Mori and Enzo Díaz. In any case, Micho will not have the Uruguayan team at the start because he will go to the Pre-Olympic with his team. Then, Santiago Simón will start the year playing in that sector as Milton Casco is recovering from a meniscus injury.

The same will happen with Echeverri and Solari, who will also be affected by that tournament, with Argentina. I could play for Solari Too bad Martinez or that the attacking couple is in the middle Colidio and Miguel Borja.

To finish finding the ideal team, Demichelis wants one more up front. And hierarchy, if possible. River attempted to repatriate Lucas Alario, first, and Rafael Borré, then. But he was rejected by both of them, who will be Inter Porto Alegre’s reinforcements. And Salomón Rondón was left without.

In addition to Colidio and Borja, Micho has it to the young Agustín Ruberto, whose contract has been renewed until 2027. There is hope placed in this boy who was a scorer in the Under 17 World Cup as well as in the renewal that younger players are given. We’ll have to see if the coach will have the courage to wear them. He also intends to lower the average age of the trainers to have a more agile, dynamic and fast team.

The other challenge for Demichelis, in addition to putting together a competitive squad on a footballing level, will also be to reconfigure the dressing room and think about the group captain’s scheme. Without Enzo Pérez and Maidana, the ribbon will naturally fit Armani, who outside the field will be surrounded by the other leaders of the group’s management. Nacho Fernández, Casco and Pity Martínez will escort him.

In short, beyond the names, the schemes, the locker room and the tactics, River will try to continue to be protagonists on every pitch. As his story dictates.