Paredes on the blow at La Bombonera: “It hurts a lot” | OneFootball

The Xeneize captain spoke after the defeat to Universidad Católica and admitted the team failed to meet its objectives for the semester.

Leandro Paredes, Boca’s captain and one of the club’s icons, delivered a harsh self-criticism after the crushing defeat against Universidad Católica at La Bombonera and the early elimination in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores. The Xeneize finished third in its group and dropped into the Copa Sudamericana playoffs.

“We didn’t achieve the objectives we had. It hurts. We were very hopeful about competing for this tournament. The previous one too. Now we have to think about what’s next and be self-critical. Clearly, we were not up to the task. We have to think about what’s next,” the midfielder said.

He also referred to the meeting with Juan Román Riquelme in the dressing room after the debacle at La Bombonera. “We always talk, we talk a lot with the president. We know we have to improve, to grow, because clearly this way we can’t achieve what we want,” was all he revealed. According to TyC Sports, the meeting lasted around 20 minutes.

Paredes also said that at no point was he told the coach would be leaving his position, although it is a fact that Riquelme will not renew his contract: “We didn’t talk about that, those are decisions the club has to make with Claudio. We are not the ones who make that decision. We’re thinking about the fact that it wasn’t enough, that we were not up to the task. We have to improve for what’s coming next.”

On the other hand, the midfielder — who will join the Argentina national team for the 2026 World Cup — admitted he had a physical issue, although it does not appear to be serious. “I had been dealing with a hamstring strain throughout the week, but there was no way I was going to miss this match. I wasn’t going to come off. The coach asked me to tell him the truth, to come off, to take care of myself, because I had important things coming up to play for. But this wasn’t the kind of match to sit out,” he said.

“We’ve had very little luck. In the last few home matches, whether against Huracán, Cruzeiro, or today as well… Cruzeiro got one chance and scored, and today too. They had just one shot and scored,” the midfielder argued. And he concluded: “These aren’t excuses, but we’ve had very little go our way.”

Boca suffered another major blow at home in 2026: they had already been knocked out by Huracán in the Apertura round of 16, and now they were eliminated from the Libertadores in the group stage, also at La Bombonera.

This defeat, which cost Claudio Úbeda his job, sent the team into the Copa Sudamericana playoffs. O’Higgins will be their opponent at that stage. The first leg at La Bombonera will be played between Tuesday, July 21 and Thursday, July 23 (immediately after the World Cup, with the final scheduled for Sunday the 19th), while the return leg will be played in Rancagua, Chile, the following week, from July 27 to 29.

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