Mariano Closs: River player's time is up, I've said it for ages | OneFootball

River’s current situation is worrying: 7 defeats in the last 10 matches and 4 consecutive home losses, figures that have broken historic records at the club. In this context, and after Sunday’s match where they lost 1-0 to Gimnasia, Mariano Closs delivered a brief editorial in which he targeted a player and declared that his cycle was over.

The renowned football commentator used his F12 program, broadcast on ESPN, to make his opinion clear. Far from avoiding the situation, he focused on Miguel Borja and his terrible current form. The missed penalty in the last play of the game once again put Borja in the spotlight, and the sports journalist did not spare him in his blunt analysis.

The truth is that Closs wasted no time in referring to the Colombian striker and went beyond that particular incident. “Did we really need this penalty to know that his cycle was over? It had been over for a while,” Mariano stated during his program. And in case there was any doubt about his stance, he immediately clarified: “I’ve been saying this for a long time.”

A few seconds later, he continued: “The problem is that when someone scores a goal but doesn’t fit into the game, we try to justify it.” After these strong and sincere words against the experienced striker, the commentator went on: “I appreciate that he scores goals but… How much does he contribute to the game during the other 89 minutes? How often does he fail to hold onto the ball or not press because he isn’t a team player?”

In the same vein, the F12 host expanded on his point. True to his characteristic personality, he didn’t hold back and even doubled down. “If he doesn’t play or contribute during those 89 minutes…” he said. And to conclude his analysis, he brought up Marcelo Gallardo and remarked: “Yesterday, everyone was coming on except Borja; he had to put him in almost as a last resort.”

To give a contrasting example, he referred to the French national team in 2018. “Olivier Giroud didn’t score a single goal in the World Cup and still became champion,” he began. “That means that during those 90 minutes, the coach found him useful, even without scoring goals, because the team as a whole progressed—Mbappé, the other teammates, and the team won,” he insisted, justifying his opinion.

Ultimately, Closs made it clear that Borja’s cycle at River is over and has been for some time. While he was once the team’s top scorer and had fantastic individual numbers, collectively he seems to be on a different wavelength and no longer provides the goal-scoring touch he used to. And the penalty against Gimnasia only confirmed it…

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