From “we didn’t throw a single kick” to “no one gets a goal”: this is how the fists between Benedetto and Zambrano began

They started in the sleeve with slaps and ended up with punches in the tunnel, on the way to the changing rooms. The details of the fight between Carlos Zambrano and Darío Benedetto, which transcend after the mutual apology and the sanction of two matches by Juan Román Riquelme, have much more to do with more typical Rocky scenes than a chat within a soccer team. His companions, embarrassed, tried to separate. The Carabinieri and private security officers also intervened. And it all started on the playing field, in full view of the world.

The race had passed Boca from one end to the other, beyond its lack of definition, and Benedetto went to the end of the line. “We didn’t kick it “shouted the marker. “What the hell are you doing? You don’t score anyone “, answered the central defender. The answer was a blow with the knuckles in the face of the Peruvian, who reacted with a slap. “Pipa was out of control“, He confided Clarione a witness to the situation.

And expanded: “The first half is over. they entered the fuck. One told the other that he didn’t score, the other that he didn’t get out and didn’t accompany. And the other says to him ‘go to your mother’s shell’, they slapped each other twice, entered the tunnel and trembled a lot ”.

Hugo Ibarra was not at the precise moment when the xeneizes footballers showed their boxing skills. But he was told, of course. That’s why after the game he recognized the discussion. He couldn’t explain Zambrano’s bruised face, a sharp blow to the left cheekbone that was brought into focus during the official broadcast and went viral through social networks. From Benedetto was observed a scratch at the neck, barely covered by the shirt. The most accurate also found a red mark on the attacker’s forehead.

There are many stories of fights inside a locker room. Alejandro Mancuso recalled a one-on-one with Jorge Almandoz, when they both played for Vélez. And that they are compadres. But they found themselves face to face for a ball that the steering wheel did not reach and went from screaming to pushing. What never ceases to attract attention is Benedict’s reaction. “Zambrano felt like sending them publicly to jail”slipped a close friend to campus.

Benedict is frowned upon by some colleagues ever since he went out to shoot in the media against Agustín Almendra. Beyond the lack of respect that young people had to show Sebastián Battaglia, many did not like it. The word “button” has been heard on more than one occasion. And there is another reality, of course. There are eight games that Pipa does not score, apart from the wrong penalties against Corinthians and which ignited the fuse of discord for the harangue of the previous one, when he insulted the leaders, despite the subsequent denial. For good, some are contained. In evil there are no contemplations.

The vice president idol lifted them in weight at dawn yesterday, when he came to the concentration from Don Torcuato. He promised them a penalty. “They are about to accomplish something impossible, which the Boca fan insults them“, said to them. This sentence made internal noise. What will happen tomorrow at the Bombonera? Neither Zambrano nor Benedetto will know. The two will be suspended and it will not be this Wednesday against Rosario Central, only against Carlos Tevez’s team, nor against Defense and Justice, this Sunday in Florencio Varela.

It is a corrective. “In the field we are brothers”, Román scolded him, who during his crack time knew how not to talk to Martín Palermo. On the green grass, on the other hand, they got tired of doing Olympic laps.

What responsibility does the head of the Football Council have for this fight? It is difficult to blame the behavior of two players aged 33 and 32. However, Zambrano and Benedetto are part of an unstable structure. “Few appreciate what’s happening in Boca”, They count in the corridors of the Bombonera. Conflicts happen constantly. Almendra, Salvio, Izquierdoz, Rossi, Benedetto, Zambrano, Pergolini and a surname that is the common denominator: Riquelme.

This afternoon Boca issued a statement confirming the penalty of two games for Zambrano and Benedetto. The text speaks of “the events that took place last Sunday” but does not go into detail on the violent episode that involved the players.

“Club Atlético Boca Juniors, after the events that took place last Sunday, informs that players Darío Benedetto and Carlos Zambrano will not be part of the first team in the next two games”, the statement read.