Why Zenón isn’t getting minutes at Boca | OneFootball

The coach gave details about the midfielder’s situation, praised his “great qualities,” and acknowledged that he has “improved” in order to regain ground in his consideration.

If there was one Boca absence that came as a surprise in the Superclásico, it was Kevin Zenón. While it has long been clear that he is no longer a priority in the pecking order, the fact that he was not even called up to visit River, in a match where Claudio Úbeda usually includes the entire squad, made it evident that he has fallen down the ranks. Why? After months of uncertainty, the explanation came from the coach himself: “I have told him what he needs to improve in order to get back into contention and compete on equal terms, and he is trying.”

Speaking with Radio La Red, days after the huge win at the Monumental that confirmed the strong present of a spell that had been shaky and is now going through its best moment, Sifón delved fully into the situation of the 24-year-old left-footer and explained that his absences are due purely to footballing reasons.

“Kevin is a player with great qualities. He has a very good strike, good technique, he is quick… There are things we have discussed personally,” he said, without going into depth on those issues, though making it clear that there is nothing behind it other than a technical/tactical decision as to why he is not playing.

Although he made it clear that Zenón must refine aspects of his game and adapt to the requirements of Boca’s coaching staff, Úbeda also stressed that he is making every effort to regain ground: “I can see day by day that he is improving. He wants to get back in the pack and make life harder for us, and that is a good thing.”

With Úbeda’s statements, the midfielder’s case becomes clearer. After having been practically frozen out during the second half of 2025, he reappeared at the start of the current season with two starts for Boca that seemed to mark a small turning point in his relationship with the coaching staff.

However, the hope did not last long and turned into a mystery: after playing just four matches in the tournament (the last was against Gimnasia de Mendoza on February 28), he stopped getting minutes and has now gone six straight matches without coming on, including against Independiente and River, for which he was not even called up. Now, he has reappeared on the squad list against Defensa y Justicia and, in a team of backups, could have the chance to get minutes off the bench.

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