They are missing the four starters: this is what Boca’s midfield would be like for the Sudamericana playoff :: Olé

It won’t be one or two, or even three. Mouth They will not have their four starting midfielders in the round of 16 playoff of the Copa Sudamericana against Independiente del Valle. This is how he must go out to play, this is how he must face a decisive all-or-nothing series. So. There is no other option. And with the confirmation of the casualties, Diego Martínez will turn the page and from Friday, when he returns to training, he will have to start shaping his new midfield.

Obviously, the Gigolo already saw it coming, he knew they weren’t going to be there. At most, at some point, there was speculation that one of the three midfielders might not be called up or that Javier Mascherano I would not take more than two players per club. But none of that happened and Boca received notification from the AFA on Tuesday about the next call for Cristian Medina, Equi Fernández, Kevin Zenón and Leandro Brey to the Argentine Under 23 National Team that will play in the Paris Olympic Games.

With this confirmation, Xeneize is left without its starting midfielders for both matches against Independiente del Valle, which will be played on July 17 in Quito and on the 24th in Bombonera. Because in addition to Medina, Equi and Zenón, Pol Fernández has been suspended due to the accumulation of yellow cards. And he also loses his backup goalkeeper, who will be replaced by Javier García, after he ensured his continuity until the end of the year.

The men’s soccer tournament at the Games will take place from July 24 to August 10 with the gold final and the bronze match. In this way, to begin with, Those mentioned will not be in the playoff nor in the resumption of the Professional League, with the possibility of missing up to five dates if they were to play for medals.

Martínez was already in a similar situation at the beginning of his cycle, when he could not count on Equi, Medina, Valentini and Brey for the Pre-Olympic. But he didn’t have a kill-kill series ahead of him and he didn’t lack the entire midfield either, because he had Pol and also Zenón establishing themselves as a starter.

Now, the first solutions have arrived in the transfer market. It is no coincidence that Juan Román Riquelme and his Football Council moved quickly to have Gary Medel back before this break, with signature, presentation and call in record time. And although the Chilean was playing as a central marker in his last time at Vasco da Gama, in soccer practices at Boca Predio he always played as a central midfielder. Clearly, despite external doubts due to his almost 37 years, the coach anticipated the losses and immediately considered him an alternative in the midfield.

The same happens with Thomas BelmonteIt is true that this is an old desire of Riquelme’s and that if he did not bring him before it was because of the difficulties in negotiating with Lanús. Now, with Toto alternating between starter and substitute in Toluca of Mexico, the president of Xeneize went to the charge again and managed to close it before the start of the preseason, buying a percentage of the pass from the Mexicans. All that remains is the review and signature. And they hope that this Friday he can say present in Ezeiza.

Belmonte started in Lanús as a looser double 5, He contributed many goals, and then he played as the only central midfielder, banking the medium alone. While in the Inferiores he played on the right, a position in which he can also be considered in Boca. In fact, they highlight his ability to play in various positions and undoubtedly cover the absences of the starters for the Sudamericana playoff.

For the moment, unless they can also add to Fausto Vera or Matías Galarza, the rest of the Xeneize midfield would be completed with the players that Martínez has on the squad. AND a permanent one is Jabes Saralegui, the youth that Martínez adopted and always had on hand as his first variant. To the point that in this cycle he accounted for 25 of his 28 games played, ten of them as a starter and the rest from the bench.

It will be somewhat more difficult to define the fourth midfielder in the first leg in Quito, when Pol is not there due to the suspension. Janson? Do you wonder if he returns from the Copa América? Langoni? Does it matter if he stays? A task that the DT must solve.

The glass half full or the glass half empty? It depends how you look at it.