“It was the best decision of my life”: without filters, Ruggeri explained why he stopped being a Boca fan and became a River fan

Oscar Ruggeriworld champion with the Argentina national team In 1986, the year in which he also won the Libertadores and the Intercontinental with River Plate, he was sincere and expressed his love for the Milionario, contrary to his relationship with Boca Juniors, a club of which he “stopped being a fan”. Why?

The central defender arrived at River in 1985, after releasing Xeneize, which caused great controversy in the world of Boca. Even though he made all his inferiors there, Ruggeri He found a wider view on the opposite sidewalk and didn’t take long to notice the differences.

“Coming to River was the best decision of my life, I was there for three and a half years and I was happy“, said the former defender in an interview with La Página Millonaria. Since in that decade Núñez’s team had a better gift, the former footballer had to experience golden years there.

“They were the best moments I’ve experienced in my long career because we didn’t lose, we won everything we played. It’s not normal to stay in a club for two years, three years and win everything, it was crazy“, he reasoned.

Naturally Oscar Ruggeri retained the First Division title in ’85/86, the Copa Libertadores in 1986, the Intercontinental in 1986 and the Inter-American in 1987; Although he had a good performance abroad, he confessed that he “hurt me when I went to Logroñés”, the club that allowed him to join Real Madrid.

The big discrepancy he noticed with Boca Juniors was the level one club had compared to the other. “When I arrived in River it felt like I was arriving in Europeand I wasn’t wrong,” he explained, referring to the club’s current positive situation at an institutional level.

But it didn’t stop there, Ruggeri outlined the major differences that the classic rivals experienced in the mid to late 80s.”At Boca we painted the numbers on our shirts“We didn’t concentrate, everyone went in their own car, we met an hour and a half before to play a game, it was crazy,” he said, underlining that “at River it was completely the opposite”.

Oscar Ruggeri, who has scored goals in each of the seasons he has played in his career, continued to praise the team he formed with the red armband. “We knew we would win, it was a formidable team on all fronts, from the goalkeeper to the substitutes. Well, if I start naming names, at a certain point there was Beto Alonso as a substitute… Imagine. In that team we had Nery ( Pumido), there was me, Tolo Gallego, Negro Enrique and Beto Alonso… We had five world champions! It was great!“he praised.

The former coach of Independiente and San Lorenzo was clear: “I stopped being a Boca fan and am a River fan“I want him to do very well and I want this president to do very well.”

For the first time Ruggeri speaks as a River fan and makes a prediction: “I love Martín Demichelis and I want him to do very well, but the problem is in the middle. We can’t find half the field”.

And recalling his golden pass for Núñez he added: “That River that was in front of you is missing and that the attackers could press, they didn’t let you out because they suffocated you, the attackers didn’t let you touch the ball from behind, you had to throw it and divide it, the defenders played in the middle of the pitch and put pressure on you. I feel like he misses me.”

Due to the multiple criticisms that Demichelis receives based on his footballing criteria, tactical approach and his way of relating to the River Plate environment, the rain of criticism does not take long to arrive in each of the matches; That’s why the big head came out to cash it. “He has remained there, he has presence, he is a good person, I love him and I hope he does very well”, he said, underlining the difficult decision to replace an imposing and winning figure like his predecessor Marcelo Gallardo.

Finally, he also highlighted the technical staff that accompanies the coach and how they accompany him. “For example, the other day when Demichelis shouted the goal at Córdoba, which was a normal outburst, Pinola quickly hugged him and wanted to take him away. “These details are worth it,” she noted.