Argentine football bids farewell to Boca Juniors boss Miguel Ángel Russo | OneFootball

The street vendor Diego Pasallo woke up early to be the first to bid farewell to coach Miguel Ángel Russo "with a party" at the legendary La Bombonera stadium, where Boca Juniors is paying tribute to its late coach this Thursday.

The Boca headquarters was surrounded by fences from early in the morning, while the fans awaited the farewell of one of the greatest legends of Argentine football, who died on Wednesday at the age of 69. "Miguel gave his all for Boca, just like me," said Pasallo, 34, to AFP.

He has the Boca shield tattooed on his right arm with the phrase "From the cradle to the coffin". "Boca is people and carnival, and we will say goodbye as Boca's fans usually do: with a party," said the street vendor, who was at the front of the line dressed from head to toe in the club's blue and yellow colors.

There were no flags or banners around the club, but an atmosphere of contemplation occasionally broken by a shout of encouragement. A delivery truck honked as it passed, in a street tribute that the fans in line, wearing the club's shirt, greeted with applause and the cry of "Russo, Russo!"

About a hundred people were waiting to enter the club's lobby, which was transformed into a chapel, so that everyone could say goodbye to "Miguelo" at a wake that will extend until 10pm (Brasília time) and will have a brief duration on Friday morning.

There, sadness mixed with pride for having been the last club of the coach in a professional career of more than five decades. "Forever in our hearts," was the message sent by Boca Juniors on a banner with his image at the stadium and the trophies won with Russo on the field. A man of few words and direct phrases, Russo was a coach for more than half of his life.

He spent 36 seasons on the sidelines, in a long career that included his most significant stints at Argentine clubs Boca Juniors, Rosario Central and Estudiantes de La Plata, even coming close to managing the Argentine national team. His first title in the first division came with Vélez Sarsfield, in the Clausura of 2005.

Later, at Maradona's request, he was called to manage Boca Juniors, leading the club to the 2007 Copa Libertadores title, his greatest achievement as a coach. Boca never disclosed details about his health, but it is known that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017.

"Goodbye, Miguel"

Luis Conrado, a 67-year-old bricklayer, traveled from the city of Lanús, in the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, where Russo debuted as a coach.

"He looked bad, but I didn't expect it. He fought until the end," he told AFP. In Lanús, "he found us in Serie B, rescued us and returned us to glory. I'm here to thank him for that joy," he added. Rosana Alegre and Fernando López, mother and son, also traveled half an hour from Palomar to say goodbye to their idol.

Russo "picked us up in the worst times and led us to glory like a champion does. He was also an upright man who, in his last days, knowing that the end was coming, asked to wear the colors of Boca Juniors," said Rosana, 59. Her 23-year-old son was moved to tears as he listened to her.

Amid the sea of blue and gold fans saying goodbye to their idol, one stood out, wearing the shirt of Estudiantes in memory of Russo's time as a player for the La Plata club, the only shirt he wore, besides that of the Argentine national team. "He never betrayed the Estudiantes fans," Roberto Pelayo told AFP.

Roberto, 59, was the first from outside the city to arrive at the tribute, after traveling nearly 30 km from Quilmes, without sleep, as he works at night for a security company. "Today, at the farewell, we are all football lovers, together, without rivalries," he told AFP. "Today, all the shirts of all colors mix to say 'goodbye Miguel, until the next game there will be revenge'."

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