Radio Gol
·6 April 2026
Maravilla Martínez’s biblical message after the Avellaneda derby

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Yahoo sportsRadio Gol
·6 April 2026

On Saturday afternoon, Racing fell 1-0 to Independiente in the Avellaneda derby on Matchday 13 of the Apertura Tournament. Although La Academia created the clearest chances at the Libertadores de América – Ricardo Enrique Bochini Stadium, the one who was wasteful in front of goal was the least expected: Adrián Martínez, who spoke out on social media this Monday.
Maravilla, the top scorer of Gustavo Costas’ team, missed a penalty in the first half by sending it over the crossbar as he tried a chipped finish. To make matters worse, in the second half he squandered a golden chance with Rodrigo Rey already beaten, and then had another shot from inside the box well blocked by Santiago Arias.
“And lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me, there was given to me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted; -2 Corinthians 12:17,” was the Bible quote chosen by Racing’s striker to express himself after the criticism he received for his performance, especially for the penalty.
After the defeat against Independiente, Racing coach Gustavo Costas came out in support of Maravilla Martínez at the press conference. “What are we going to say to him? He’s given us so much…” he said. “He’s scored 200 goals, he’s given us so much… What are we going to say to him? If he had scored the penalty, we’d be talking about the wonderful thing he did. He decided to take it that way… We can’t kill a player who has given us so much just because he missed a penalty or some chance right under the goal. On the contrary, we have to lift him up and support him in every way,” he said.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.









































