red frames was a key protagonist in the title of Boca Juniors on the Professional League Cup: scored 1-0 against Tigre at 48 minutes of the first stage with a header that slipped from the goalkeeper’s gloves Gonzalo Marinelli. And he offered his solidity in tandem with Carlos Izquierdoz to keep the fence undefeated and cement from the bottom the final 3-0 that decreed the consecration.
But the defender, 32, also gave the note in the celebrations. It is that during the celebration the campus put together a picnic with their families inside the playing field of the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium in Córdoba. And there, in privacy, the cameras captured him drinking beer while he tasted pizzas and empanadas, like the rest of his companions. But the man emerged from Estudiantes de La Plata he lit a cigarette and smoked it calmly, in an image that attracted attention on social networks.
Shortly after, the player fueled the controversy when he posted on his Instagram account a provocative photo of the retired basketball star Michael Jordan smoking a cigar after having won one of the titles he won with the Chicago Bulls in the NBA. In addition, he added some emojis of laughing faces to the post.
It is not uncommon for soccer players to smoke. It happens in Argentine football and also abroad: Zlatan Ibrahimovic today celebrated the Serie A title with Milan smoking a cigar. But it is rare that they do it publicly, in front of the cameras, and on the very grass where Rojo had just completed a 90-minute job.
* The cry of Marcos Rojo that opened the meeting in Córdoba
The cigarette issue was already the focus of controversy in Boca in 2016, although not with the two-time World Cup Red in the spotlight. Was when At halftime of a match between Nacional de Montevideo and Xeneize Daniel Osvaldo lit a cigarette in the locker room, Guillermo Barros Schelotto reprimanded him and that ended up determining his departure from La Ribera.
In this case there was no trauma, beyond the reactions generated by the attitude of the former Manchester United in the networks. Controversy aside, Rojo achieved his second title since his arrival in La Ribera, counting the Argentine Cup that he won in December 2021. And he maintains the dream of obtaining the Copa Libertadores, for which Boca must beat Deportivo Cali in La Bombonera on Thursday to advance to the round of 16. Even depending on what happens in the match between Corinthians and Always Ready, he can still aspire to be top of Group E.
“It’s very gratifying, I told my teammates to enjoy themselves because you never know when you’re going to be in a game like this again. The family is always there. My daughters became fans of Boca and it gives me great joy that they are here by my side, ”she commented after embroidering the star.
“It was difficult because every game I played with Zambra, Figal, Gato Ávila, Aranda… It’s not the best or recommended, but you had to face up and get comfortable and try to do well. I couldn’t play in the Cup, I tried to help the boys who were rotating”, he detailed the difficulties that Boca faced throughout the competition.
* Red’s main statements
“The fact that they don’t convert us builds confidence in our teammates from midfield forward. You can rest assured that we are behind to bank them ”, he pointed out about the fact that Xeneize kept the fence undefeated in the three direct elimination series.
“I am aware that I was not at my best level and I still am not, I still need to improve. I train day by day, I make an effort. Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t, but I try to stay calm.”, made self-criticism. And he took that self-assessment to the collective aspect, starting from the criticism that surrounded coach Sebastián Battaglia throughout the semester. “Obviously it rebounds in the locker room, in the performance of each one. If I tell you no, it’s a lie. But we try to talk a lot, to make ourselves strong and take that criticism. We are very self-critical too. We seemed a little slow, we couldn’t press in the rival field. You saw the improvement at the end of the tournament”, he concluded.
KEEP READING:
