Boca today: sorrow over Gayoso's death, final tweaks for Católica | OneFootball

Boca’s day today is marked by the passing of Fernando Gayoso, former goalkeeping coach of the professional squad, who was the quiet architect behind great feats. The club is in mourning, with flags at half-staff.

Through a statement on its official social media accounts, Club Atlético Boca Juniors deeply mourned the passing of Fernando Gayoso. “Fernando will be remembered for his commitment, his professionalism, and the warmth with which he accompanied every stage of our institution. We stand with his family, friends, and loved ones in this difficult time.”

Fernando Gustavo Gayoso, born on August 12, 1970, achieved something few can: he made a little-known role, that of goalkeeping coach, into a recognized and valued job. He did it quietly, through hard work and, as is the norm in football, with results.

Fernando Gayoso passed away this Tuesday, May 26.

Trained in the most difficult and thankless position, and having played in the lower divisions as goalkeeper for Almirante Brown, Gayoso became a reference name in the second decade of this century, when he was part of Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s staff at the Boca team that won two titles in 2015. He also worked at Tigre, Vélez, and Racing.

Agustín Orion, Agustín Rossi, and Sergio Romero, key figures in memorable penalty shootouts, often highlighted Gayoso’s ability in that decisive moment, and more than once dedicated saves to him that gave Boca wins and titles, where he returned in 2020 and worked until 2024.

An ALS diagnosis, which soon became a serious limitation in his daily life, took Fernando away from the pitch, but not from his feelings for Boca. Gayoso’s personal quality and professional stature will remain alive every time a Xeneize goalkeeper guesses the direction of that shot from 12 yards.

Boca trained today with Católica in mind

Amid the pain over the passing of the former goalkeeping coach, the squad trained at the Ezeiza facility. Before practice, there was a minute of silence in which the players formed a circle at midfield.

Strictly on the sporting side, the players continued preparing for the match they will play on Thursday at La Bombonera. The squad led by Claudio Úbeda will have one more training session to decide who will play in the match.

There would be three changes that Sifón would make to host Universidad Católica. Marco Pellegrino would replace Ayrton Costa, Ander Herrera would play instead of Tomás Belmonte, and Exequiel Zeballos would get the chance to start due to Miguel Merentiel’s injury, whom they will wait on until the last minute.

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