Argentinean Football Betting: Boca Juniors under huge pressure early on

Jonathan Wilson / Jonathan Wilson / 26 August 2010 / Leave a Comment

Martin Palermo has no plans to retire but perhaps someone should retire him...

"Palermo, who turns 37 in November, remains the key figure, but for all
his undoubted fighting spirit and ability to bundle in goals from
nothing, the thought persists that sometime soon somebody is going to
have to tell him to retire."

Jonathan Wilson tells us why these are troublesome times once again at Boca Juniors with ageing players still lingering about and results on the pitch disappointing their passionate fans...

The Apertura couldn't have started much worse for Boca Juniors. Three games in, they've picked up a single point and, even worse, their great rivals River Plate stand proudly atop the league table, their fears of relegation rapidly vanishing after three straight single-goal victories. Whether River's defence is good enough to maintain a title challenge is debatable, and certainly against Independiente on Sunday, when it took a superb last-minute save from Juan Pablo Carrizo to keep out an Andres Silvera volley, they very nearly dropped two points from a game they had broadly dominated.

So River's position may be a touch artificial (they are [2.14] to win at Argentinos Juniors on Sunday), and Velez Sarsfield, who have won three out of three, and Estudiantes, with seven points, still appear more likely champions, but Boca's is not: they have been awful this season. A draw away to Godoy Cruz on the opening weekend was gently encouraging, but a home defeat to Racing followed by Sunday's embarrassingly supine defeat at All Boys has put their coach Claudio Borghi under pressure.

The former AC Milan player - who you may remember as a pioneer of the trick of kicking the ball behind your standing leg - was appointed after the collapse of the Alfie Basile-Carlos Bianchi dream double act, having won the clausura with Argentinos Juniors. He, apparently, retains the support of the players with both Martin Palermo and Juan
Roman Riquelme, two characters who can usually be relied upon to have opposing views, backing him.

Palermo, who turns 37 in November, remains the key figure, but for all his undoubted fighting spirit and ability to bundle in goals from nothing, the thought persists that sometime soon somebody is going to have to tell him to retire. He started the first two games up front alongside Lucas Viatri, and as the consensus grew that they're too
similar to form an effective partnership, it was - of course - Viatri who found himself dropped. In his place came Pablo Mouche, who is wildly talented, but utterly inconsistent, and, although still young and often used wide, has managed just two goals in 49 league
appearances for the club, which hardly suggests an ideal second striker.

Riquelme, we're told, will return in September, or maybe October. Or possibly November. Already his fans, of whom there are many, are suggesting that the stage will be set for him to reignite the side and save them from ignominy. He is 32 and, while pace of body has never been an asset, it still seems extraordinary that Boca have given him a
four-year contract worth $5million (and have agreed to pay half the tax). It may be that a king, even one whose injury problems are rumoured to be chronic, deserves his tribute, but it also means that the Palermo situation will repeat itself (surely Palermo will have
gone in four years? Surely...)

At the moment, Riquelme's place has been taken by the 20-year-old Marcelo Canete. That he is gifted is clear, but as Borghi has said, to be the regular playmaker in a side like Boca at that age is probably too much. There are other issues with selection as well. Is the dynamic Chilean Gary Medel really at his best as a right-sided centre-back? Wouldn't it make more sense to use him at the back of the midfield alongside Sebastian Battaglia, even if that meant abandoning Borghi's favoured 3-4-1-2? The left wing-back Matias Gimenez, meanwhile, looks very shaky defensively, and was directly responsible for Godoy Cruz's goal in that first match.

Borghi knows fan opinion is against him, and has admitted that Sunday's match is make-or-break. Unfortunately for him, it's against Velez. It is, at least, at the Bombonera, but Velez have been quietly efficient so far this season, and have probably been the most
consistent Argentinian club over the past couple of years. They're a team Boca should be measuring themselves by, but probably the worst team Boca could be playing at the moment. Boca are [2.26] to win, but if they lose ([2.74]), Borghi looks likely to become their shortest-serving manager in 30 years.