Russo stands firm after players criticise Úbeda | OneFootball

The coach had a talk with his players, and particularly with Palacios, to ensure that reactions like last Sunday’s do not happen again.

Boca began a new week of training with their minds set on the upcoming clash against Central Córdoba, next Sunday at La Bombonera, for matchday 9 of the Clausura tournament in the Professional League. Miguel Ángel Russo had a talk with the entire squad regarding the reactions of some players to the coaching staff’s decisions, especially after what happened with Carlos Palacios last Sunday, with whom he spoke face to face in particular.

The Chilean reproached Claudio Úbeda, Russo’s assistant coach, on camera for the decision to substitute him for Alan Velasco in the 72nd minute of the draw against Rosario Central in Arroyito. The attitude of the 24-year-old midfielder was not well received by the Xeneize coaching staff, and that’s why they clarified the situation so it would not happen again.

However, the Palacios episode was not the first of its kind; something similar had already happened with Edinson Cavani and Miguel Merentiel. In the victory against Independiente Rivadavia in Mendoza, a situation identical to Sunday’s occurred, when the former PSG player reproached Úbeda for substituting him as he left the field. A noteworthy detail is that after that incident, the Uruguayan completed the full 90 minutes in all subsequent matches.

If we go back a bit further, specifically to the third matchday when Boca lost to Huracán at the Ducó,there was the unusual situation involving Merentiel, when the striker came onto the pitch to play the second half, but in reality, he had been substituted by Russo. When he realized the change, he ran off to the locker room, surprising even his own teammates. In the end, the coaching staff had a talk with him and the situation did not escalate further.

Although no sporting sanction was applied to the Uruguayan forwards at that time, nor will it happen now with the former Colo Colo player, the coaching staff does not want these types of situations to be repeated in front of the cameras, as they feel it exposes them to the fans.

After today’s recovery exercises in the gym, the Xeneize squad will return to training tomorrow with a double session at the Ezeiza complex. On Thursday afternoon, the usual formal football practice will take place at La Bombonera, while Friday’s session will be held in the morning. Boca will host Central Córdoba next Sunday at 9:15 p.m.

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