Boca’s gesture of support for Nicolás Figal in the preview of the Superclásico against River at the Monumental

He arrived just two summers ago, but has already become a reference for Boca’s defense. A symptom of his firmness. After all, the ‘Xeneize’ central defenders have always had tough characteristics. However, Nicola Figal It also brings together all the attributes of the modern scoreboard: starting and driving, basically. Here because Juan Roman Riquelme He did not hesitate to renew the contract. A few hours before the Superclásico, the president sealed the extension of the relationship with the 29-year-old player until December 2027.

Figal had his footballing origins at Independiente, he was transferred to Inter Miami long before David Beckham planned to get Leonel Messi. Boca bought the pass from the North American club for 2,600,000 dollars and the player from America (Buenos Aires province) arrived in January 2022. At that time there were Carlos Izquierdoz, Marcos Rojo and Lisandro López as first alternatives. Since he knew how to play as a right back in Avellaneda, he adapted.

But he soon earned his place in the defense he shared with Rojo. While the captain was recovering from torn ligaments in his right knee, he teamed up with Nicolás Valentini. This year, since the expert player who wore the national team shirt was injured again, he confirmed himself alongside Cristian Lema, recently arrived from Lanús. It even gave him the role of Puerto Madryn’s first central scorer.

Diego Martinez He considers it a fundamental piece. He currently has 79 games with the blue and gold shirt and 4 goals. And they have won three titles: League Cup, Professional League and Argentine Super Cup, all in 2022.

The renewal of Figal is not accidental. The Football Council’s aim is to resolve the continuity of players whose contracts expire at the end of the year. They are Sergio Romero, Luis Advíncula, Pol Fernández, Edinson Cavani, Valentini and Darío Benedetto. They are also working to extend Marcelo Weigandt’s contract, which expires in June.

Figal, needless to say, will start against River. What will happen to Red? The reference had suffered a tear in his left calf 40 days ago, in the pre-competitive warm-up of the match that marked Martínez’s debut on the bench, against Gimnasia y Tiro for the Argentine Cup. Now he wants to be. With a lot of tailwind, he will go to the bank.

The excluded is Pol Fernández. The midfielder suffered a sprained right ankle and will not be able to play at Monumental.

Faced with this transcendental duel for this Boca in crisis, the coach will have to define whether he will change team (Lucas Blondel and Lautaro Blanco ask him for a clue) and what decision he will make in the future with Cavani, who has been going through a dark phase.