Riquelme's call on Tomás Aranda and Leonel Flores before La Bombonera | OneFootball

Ever since Tomás Aranda made his Boca debut, without a preseason, his level surprised everyone. He put the team on his shoulders. He was the big revelation of the first half of the year, earned a starting spot, and gained the trust to take the No. 10 shirt for the second part of the year, following Edinson Cavani’s departure.

This semester, the case of the 19-year-old kid is joined by Leonel Flores, who made his official debut against Sarmiento in the Copa Argentina (he had already debuted in the friendly against Athletico Paranaense). Against El Verde, he was not only the star of the night, but he capped it off with a stunning goal he will never forget.

With both youngsters breaking through, the fans are starting to dream, and comparisons with world football legends and Boca greats were quick to arrive, a situation that did not sit well at all with Juan Román Riquelme, who called for calm.

“Aranda is a kid with a lot of technique and ability, it comes naturally to him. We have to protect him, support him; everyone is already saying he’s the ‘new Messi.’ Flores is being compared to Tevez, they’re already jumping to conclusions, we have to leave them alone,” the club president said in an interview with TyC Sports.

Aranda and Flores started against Sarmiento and will do so again at La Bombonera. Photo: CA.

Along the same lines, the club idol clarified that, like all young players, they will have ups and downs over the coming months, so they will need the help of their teammates to get back to their level. “When they don’t have such good matches, they need the team to win, so nobody says anything and they can keep their momentum, because that’s how we live. Technically they are very good and they’re going to help us a lot,” he continued.

Tomás Aranda and Leonel Flores to start against O’Higgins

After the end of the World Cup, Argentine football returns to action and Boca — after qualifying for the next stage of the Copa Argentina — will play the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana against O’Higgins. It will be this Thursday, July 23, starting at 9:30 p.m. at the Alberto J. Armando, with Uruguayan referee Andrés Matonte officiating, assisted by his compatriots Martín Soppi and Horacio Ferreiro, José Burgos as fourth official, and Christian Ferreyra on VAR.

Aranda and Flores will start against O’Higgins. Photos: Javier Martino/CABJ Press.

In this way, Rodolfo Arruabarrena will begin his path in the continental tournament, where he plans to field his strongest XI, including some youngsters from the club’s academy: Álvaro Montero; Dylan Gorosito, Nicolas Figal, Ayrton Costa, Lautaro Blanco; Leandro Paredes, Milton Delgado; Leonel Flores, Tomás Aranda, Sebastián Villa and Miguel Merentiel.

Keep reading:

What time does Boca vs. O’Higgins kick off and how to watch it live

Dylan Gorosito will start in Boca vs. O’Higgins

Boca’s squad for vs. O’Higgins: key returns and many absences

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