Michael Jordan has a habit that, he said, was born after getting the first of six NBA championship rings he won with the Chicago Bulls: smoking cigars. He confessed this to a media expert, years after his retirement, where he also revealed that he had the luxury of light a cigarette before each game.

Marcos Rojo on Sunday celebrated the 2022 Professional League Cup title he won at Boca Juniors, in Córdoba, against Tigre, using a cigarette, in addition to pizza and beer, an attitude that has reaped him criticism.

Where do the two stories go together? On social networks, by the former player of the Argentine team used to defend himself from questions. Exactly, he did it with a picture of, for many, the best basketball player of all time.

In an Instagram story, one of many he published regarding the Xeneize celebration after the overwhelming 3-0 at the stadium of Mario Alberto Kempes, where he scored the first goal (which included goalkeeper Gonzalo Marinelli) , Rojo uploaded an image of Jordan with a cigar in his mouthmany emoji crying with laughter and hearts in the colors of their club.

Clearly, this is a kind of liberation. A defense mechanism against criticism which he received for smoking inside the playing field, still wearing Boca’s official attire, with his family and before the large number of cameras arranged around Cordovan’s stage to capture every detail of the celebration.

To do this, the world runner-up along with Argentina at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and who also participated in Russia 2018 to score a major goal against Nigeria to win the group stage, has become a world-class figure . An athlete like Jordan, who built an empire around his figure, even after his definite retirement from basketball, wearing the Washington Wizards jersey.

Photos of Rojo with his family, relatives and friends. With the cup in his hands or without. Or shouting his purpose. It included teammates such as Peruvian Carlos Zambrano or the young Agustín Sández and Luis Vázquez, and included the idol and vice president of the riverside institution, Juan Román Riquelme. Or a fun celebration of your colleagues at the airport, with music and songs.

They were all postcards wrapped around Jordan in the Bulls ’mythical jersey number 23, a cigar held by his teeth and a smiling expression. An action that Rojo also rehearsed this afternoonsitting on the lawn of Mario Alberto Kempes, after winning his second local title with Boca.

For the former defender of Estudiantes de La Plata, the recess may not last long. Certainly, as many licenses as in the afternoon-evening in Cordovan will no longer be allowed.

On Thursday, in La Bombonera against Deportivo Cali from Colombia, Boca will play for access to the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores de América and there is only one result to rest easy: win.

DB