Even Paredes baffled: reaction to Úbeda after Zeballos' sub | OneFootball

The year is over for Boca. In the semifinals of the Torneo Clausura, Racing narrowly defeated the Xeneize during their visit to La Bombonera. But beyond the elimination and marking the third consecutive year without titles, all eyes were on the strange, questionable, unbelievable, and incomprehensible substitution of Changuito Zeballos. Not even Leandro Paredes understood what Claudio Úbeda was trying to do.

At the 25th minute of the second half, the blue and gold coach decided to make his first substitution. He called on Alan Velasco –who returned to the pitch after several weeks– to take off his bib and enter the field. However, what stood out was that it was the ‘7’ who came off.

Boca was eliminated by Racing. Photo: Gerónimo Marino/La Número 12

The forward from Santiago was being the most dangerous player in Boca’s attack and, on more than one occasion, put La Academia’s defense in trouble. This situation caused strong anger in all sectors of La Bombonera. When the fans saw the sign indicating Changuito Zeballos was coming off, their first reaction was to hold their heads in disbelief.

But they weren’t the only ones who showed their anger at the substitution. The Boca captain, who has always praised Úbeda’s work, didn’t hide his frustration at Zeballos’ exit. Upon seeing the ‘7’, the Boca captain’s first reaction was to look at the bench, shake his head in disbelief, and open his arms as if searching for an explanation.

Despite the constant protests from the world champion –his lips couldn’t be read, as he had his back to the cameras–, the substitution was never canceled and went ahead anyway. This led to a second reaction from Paredes. With his left leg, he angrily kicked the ground, knowing they were losing a very important attacking option.

The only substitution until the end

The substitution of Changuito Zeballos remains incomprehensible, especially since just moments before, he had beaten his marker for speed on the left wing, in a play similar to Boca’s second goal against River in the last Superclásico.

Moreover, knowing that Milton Giménez and Carlos Palacios weren’t performing at their best in the match against Racing. However, Claudio Úbeda didn’t make any further changes from the bench. Only in stoppage time did the coach opt to bring on Rodrigo Battaglia for Milton Delgado.

Keep reading:

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.