Montiel hits back at Boca over refereeing gripes: «Show more respect» | OneFootball

Amid a buildup clouded by Boca fans’ criticism of Darío Herrera and by images showing the poor condition of River’s pitch, Gonzalo Montiel and Leandro Paredes shared a press conference to preview the Superclásico. “As for the referee, I think there needs to be a little more respect,” said Cachete. And Boca’s captain toned down the controversy, saying: “I don’t believe anyone has bad intentions.”

As often happens in Argentine football, both teams tried to set the tone ahead of the tournament’s biggest match. Both let it be known they were unhappy with the appointment of the refereeing team and, at the same time, no one avoided the issue of the grass at Núñez. “It’s not in good condition. It doesn’t favor either of the two teams,” admitted River’s No. 4, and his Argentina teammate added: “It’ll be the same for both. We’re two teams that try to play football, the condition has an impact, but we’re not giving it that much importance.”

The tense atmosphere was limited to that first question about the refereeing and the Monumental pitch. Beyond that, both highlighted the importance of the match and made it clear that it was practically a tournament in itself. “There’s nothing better than playing in a Superclásico. It’s going to be difficult, they’re tight matches because that’s what derbies are like. We’ll try to impose our game and, most importantly, win,” Montiel said.

And Paredes added: “The desire is always to achieve important things, to compete for important things. That’s also why I came back to the club. I wanted to feel that again. The Superclásico is one of the most important matches we get to play in our career.”

Among other topics, both confirmed that if they are on the field, they will be the ones to take any possible penalties for their respective teams. World champions in Qatar, both scored in the penalty shootout in the quarterfinal against the Netherlands and in the final against France, in which, of course, Montiel scored the decisive one. “If I get to play, then obviously I’ll take it,” said Cachete. And Paredes had no doubts: “It’ll surely be me who takes it.”

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