“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Boca Juniors have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Boca Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Boca Juniors training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Malcom Braida is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Boca Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Boca Juniors training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Malcom Braida is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 91th minute. Newell's Old Boys will replay every second of the added time for a week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Boca Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 2‑1 win over Newell's Old Boys, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The words a physio says slowly. 23 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The offer from Independiente Rivadavia for Tomás Belmonte was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Leandro Paredes was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Boca Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Add another name to the list: Central Córdoba SdE have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Milton Delgado. The answer from Boca Juniors has not changed — yet.
“I watch every Boca Juniors game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Banik Ostrava runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Boca Juniors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Boca Juniors have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Boca Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Boca Juniors training over how hard people work
A 5‑2 win over Estudiantes, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A brace, and Adam Bareiro takes the afternoon — 8.69
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Adam Bareiro provided it, and the 8.69 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The offer from Sanfrecce Hiroshima for Camilo Salamanca was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Boca Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Boca Juniors and Estudiantes, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Boca Juniors training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marco Pellegrino is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
In brief
Player ratingsKevin Zenón was on a different afternoon to everybody else