Russo stands his ground 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 about 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, in front of the cameras 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 did not sit well with the Xeneize coaching staff, and that’s why they clarified the situation so it wouldn’t happen again.

However, the Palacios incident was not the first of its kind; something similar had already happened with Edinson Cavani and Miguel Merentiel. In the victory over 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. Notably, after that disagreement, the Uruguayan completed the full 90 minutes in all subsequent matches.

If we go back a little further, specifically to the third matchday when Boca lost to Huracán at the Ducó, there was the unusual situation involving Merentiel, when the forward ran onto the pitch to play the second half, but in reality, he had been substituted by Russo. When he realized the change, he ran back 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.

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 kinds of situations to be repeated in front of the cameras, as they feel it leaves them exposed to the fans.

After this afternoon’s recovery exercises in the gym, the Xeneize squad will train again tomorrow in double sessions at the Ezeiza facility. On Thursday afternoon, the usual formal football practice will take place at La Bombonera, while Friday’s session will be in the morning. Boca will host Central Córdoba next Sunday at 21:15.

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