Tomás Belmonte reflects on Boca’s win as he returns to the starting eleven | OneFootball

Boca bids farewell to the preseason friendlies with a positive balance. After the goalless draw against Millonarios at La Bombonera, Claudio Úbeda's team achieved a valuable 2-1 victory against Olimpia of Paraguay in the International Challenge. A victory with a special taste for Tomás Belmonte who returned to the starting lineup, scored the second goal, and received the award for the best player of the match.

Toto had his best match since joining the Xeneize. Although, in the match against the Colombians, in the short time he played, he showed some flashes of quality with combinations with the forwards and reaching the opponent's area, in the match against the Decano he was key for the start of the season.

After the victory at the Estadio Único de San Nicolás, the former Lanús midfielder highlighted the great level shown by the club from La Ribera collectively, especially due to "the work all week, which bore fruit. We played a great match. We are very happy." In fact, the result could have been more significant given the large number of chances Boca created.

Belmonte came from five matches gaining minutes from the bench (including the friendly against Millonarios) and one match (Racing) where he watched from the sidelines. Therefore, returning to the starting lineup, with a goal and being the standout player, gave him a confidence boost ahead of the debut in the Torneo Apertura.

"I felt very good, I needed it. Thank God I was able to play a great match. I felt very comfortable, my teammates also made me feel very good. Very happy," revealed the 27-year-old midfielder in a conversation with the official Disney+ broadcast after the match.

Claudio Úbeda's request for Tomás Belmonte and the whole team

Unlike the end of the 2025 season, this new and renewed Boca under Claudio Úbeda (and not because of new signings) has a more offensive aspect, with midfielders close to the opponent's area and very involved in supporting the forwards in attack.

This situation is no coincidence, but a request from the coach himself, and they have been working on it since the first day of preseason, where the "farewell" to the double 9 was defined for the welcome of the 4-3-3. "Claudio (Úbeda) asks us to keep insisting on the form, on the way, on always being consistent, on not giving up and always trying to win because this jersey deserves it, so we are going to go out to win on all fields," he concluded.

Keep reading:

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