Ricardo Gareca and Boca: a story that has gone from love to hatred for a “betrayal” and now has the opportunity to heal its wounds

From love to hate there is a step. And from hate to love? The Argentine Criminal Code establishes the statute of limitations for any crime. But how much does a fan need to forgive what he considers an unforgivable affront? “Betrayal” It was the word that many supporters spoke in early 1985, when Ricardo Gareca crossed the sidewalk and went from Boca to River. Thirty-seven years later, the Tiger He is one of the candidates to lead the team after Sebastián Battaglia was sent off. Will he still survive some of that old grudge?

What some have called high treason was the culmination of a long conflict that Gareca and his partner and friend Oscar Ruggeri starred at a time when Boca was going through a very serious crisis, which had begun to take shape in 1981 and which had ended in 1984, and which even put La Bombonera on the brink of auction.

In early July of that year and following a long chain of arrears, the campus had declared a two-week strike. On October 31, President Domingo Corigliano announced a request for creditors. On November 5, the president resigned, as much of his board of directors had done in the previous weeks. The club stepped in and Federico Polak took over on November 29, who served as chief adviser to the Nation’s Ministry of Education.

One of Polak’s first actions as big shot xeneize had to reach a last-minute agreement and thus avoid the auction of the Bombonera and the venue, scheduled for December 6, for a debt of 35,000 dollars that the club had with Wanderers de Montevideo for the purchase of Ariel Krasousski’s pass . Instead, he could not prevent the separation of Gareca and Ruggeri.

Both had played the last two seasons for the 20 percent salary increase clause, not having agreed on a contract renewal first with the management led by Martín Benito Noel and then with that of Corigliano. Furthermore, the two of them and Carlos Córdoba have been identified by management and supporters as gang leaders. from the campus that had forced the strike in July. “Gareca has cancer, he must die”had come to sing fans in some games.

The Tigerwho was then 26 years old, sHe had trained in the lower divisions of Boca since he was 10, had made his First Division debut on 21 September 1978 by winning 1-0 against Rosario Central for the 31st round of the Metropolitan (entered by José Luis Saldaño) and had always worn the Auriazul shirt ever since. Imagining it in red and white was a mission suitable only for science fiction lovers.

On 11 December, when the striker and Ruggeri were only three weeks away, Roberto Lucke, legal advisor for the club’s intervention, met them and with his representative, Guillermo Coppolato try to find a solution that prevents the release. “I assure you there will be an agreement. I don’t know if they will end up playing for Boca or not, but both Boca and the players will be satisfied. “assured Lucke after the conclave.

The footballers didn’t see things that clearly. “I will continue if they pay me what corresponds to me and other matters are organized. This is the only possibility “.Gareca explained. Ruggeri, whose relationship with part of the squad had worsened to the extreme due to the way in which the dispute with the management had been handled in the previous months, also set other conditions: “I do not resolve if some players who have failed in the game do not he goes away at the moment of the conflict.

It soon became clear that the situation had no return. One day after the meeting, The Argentine football federations (FAA) have intimidated Boca respect the Collective Agreement and grant the free pass to the players. On December 24, with sweet bread on the table, the club sent them telegrams to extend their ties. Neither accepted and both were deemed free on January 1st.

From now on I will negotiate free, although I do not rule out continuing to play for Boca. Also, I would love to, as long as my rights are respected. If they release me and then make me a good offer, I’ll stay. But the people of the club are cheating on the fans telling them that we take this position because all we want is to leave “Gareca kept on January 2, one day before marrying Gladys Hartintegui.

In those days, the unthinkable was no longer the case. River was negotiating with the two Boca crests and nobody cared too much about hiding it. The only club concerned about his stay in Argentina was River. So far it is the most concrete, “acknowledged the Tigerwho stressed that his priority was to stay in the country to be close to the national team.

The president of Millionaire, Hugo Santilli had already reached an agreement with Coppola for Gareca and Ruggeri, but with the premise that both of them would arrive for free. Boca did not give his arm to twist and refused to release them without further ado. The AFA supported his position. Faced with this stalemate, on January 18 the FAA declared an indefinite strike to demand the freedom of the two and Mario Franceschini (New Chicago). As a result, the traditional Mar del Plata summer tournament was suspended.

On February 1st, the race ended in a way that would be difficult to understand today: The AFA gave Gareca and Ruggeri freedom of action, who almost immediately signed a contract with River, and the FAA canceled the strike. To prevent the conflict from continuing, the Millionaire accepted a negotiated exit and transferred to Xeneize Carlos Daniel Tapia and Julio Olarticoechea.

Gareca and Ruggeri have become public enemies of Boca fans, who considered his move an affront. The question immediately arises: how will they be received when they return to the Bombonera? “It is obvious that they will boo at us, they have already done so recently. But we will have to overcome the pressure of the public “held the Tiger in an interview with Clarione on February 4th.

However, that long-awaited fact did not happen, as the striker only stayed a semester at the Núñez club and traveled to Colombia on 20 July 1985 to join América de Cali. “I am comforted by the fact that, sooner or later, I will return to play for the national team. And Boca can be a good chance, ”he said later. Ruggeri, on the other hand, had to put up with the hostility of the Boca fans. The stubborn He has repeatedly said that anonymous hands had tried to burn down his parents’ house in Ramos Mejía.

After four years in Colombia, Gareca returned to the country. So he re-proposed himself at the Bombonera: he did it 5 times as a player (3 with Velez, a club of which he is a fan, and 2 with Independiente) and 12 as a coach (2 with Independiente, 2 with Talleres, 1 with Colón, 6 with Vélez and 1 with the Peruvian team). He has never been excessively mistreated. And he never won. Now maybe he’s your turn to do it, even if sitting on the local bench. Because all crimes have a statute of limitations.