Racing to renew Rojo's deal: why the 36-year-old won them over | OneFootball

Marcos Rojo’s situation changed drastically. From being targeted by the fans and having one and a half feet out of Racing, the 36-year-old center back could stay at the club. The good form he has shown in recent matches and the almost certain departure of Agustín García Basso, the other left-footed center back, changed Diego Milito’s perception. The cost-benefit balance works in the president’s favor. And Gustavo Costas, who said he needed “a son of a b…” in the squad, also agrees with keeping him.

The point of maximum tension came on April 12 at El Cilindro, when Rojo played his worst match in the sky-blue-and-white shirt. He was at fault for River’s first goal, an unforced mistake while stepping in that allowed Facundo Colidio to finish comfortably against Facundo Cambeses. In that same match, the defender was sent off for an off-the-ball hit on Lucas Martínez Quarta. The fans had already been looking at him sideways since the own goal in last year’s semifinal against Flamengo, a match in which he caused Santiago Sosa’s injury—unintentionally, of course. So, they had already written him off.

The Disciplinary Tribunal suspended him for two matches, so he missed the games against Aldosivi and Barracas Central, and returned against Caracas FC in Venezuela, when the coach chose a backup lineup because qualification for the round-of-16 playoffs was at stake. He was on the bench against Huracán and also did not feature against Botafogo, but he regained his starting spot for the clashes with Estudiantes and Rosario Central. In both matches, he played the full ninety minutes.

With 18 matches played, the performance-based contract he signed in August of last year, after Miguel Ángel Russo declared him surplus to requirements at Boca, could be extended until June 2027. Next week, Kristian Bereit will arrive in Argentina and meet with sporting director Sebastián Saja to move forward with the terms of his continuation. The agent has spoken with the player, and there is a good willingness on both sides.

Rojo did not apologize for his sending-off against River to the fans, who could not attend the stadium because of a Conmebol sanction, but rather for greeting Cristian Medina after the 3-2 defeat to Botafogo. “We have to move forward. I want to take the chance to apologize if anyone was bothered by what happened the other day in the Copa Sudamericana. Because what happened against River, those are things that happen in football. But maybe what happened the other day was taken out of context—I wanted to clear that up,” he said, referring to his smiles during the conversation with the midfielder, his former teammate at Boca.

And he stressed: «I’m not a malicious player. I’ve never tried to hurt anyone. Am I rough? Yes, I’m rough. It’s my way of playing. I’m a center back who likes contact, who goes all-in for 50-50 balls. That’s how I am, and I’m going to keep being that way until the last day of my career».

Costas values him, has a great relationship with the player, and although they had a heated talk after the match against River, nothing changed between them. Nor with the squad, whom he addressed the day after the derby defeat and told he regretted leaving the team a man down at a key moment. Will he manage to win the fans over? That is Marcos R.’s big challenge (as his shirt says).

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