Riquelme and Macri agreed on one thing: Boca's ideal manager now | OneFootball

Despite their deep political differences and having starred in one of the tensest election battles in the club’s history, Riquelme and Macri agree on who should take over as Boca’s head coach.

The Boca world is an ecosystem where politics and football passion rarely go separate ways. The relationship between Juan Román Riquelme and Mauricio Macri is the perfect example of this: a historic rivalry that has shaped the agenda at the club from La Ribera in recent years and reached its boiling point at the end of 2023.

In that election, Macri ran as vice president on the ticket headed by Andrés Ibarra, with the aim of unseating the idol. However, at the ballot box, the members spoke emphatically: Riquelme was elected president with more than 65 percent of the vote, handing Macrismo a tough defeat and consolidating his absolute power at Brandsen 805, in the election with the highest turnout in the club’s history and in Argentine football.

Juan Román Riquelme, Boca president. Photo: Juano Tesone/Clarín.

Since then, things have never calmed down, and criticism from the opposition has been constant. However, amid the team’s current situation and the need to find a clear direction, an unusual phenomenon emerged: the two opposite poles of Boca politics agree on the ideal profiles to put on the coach’s tracksuit.

Where Riquelme and Macri agree

A few days ago, Mauricio Macri reappeared publicly and did not miss the chance to fire heavy criticism at the current leadership, although in the middle of his jab he dropped specific names: "Boca’s coach, if we had a serious club run by a serious board of directors, could only come from Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Martín Palermo, Carlos Tevez or Rodolfo Arruabarrena," Macri shot back.

Arruabarrena will be Boca’s coach. Photo: Mohamed Farag/Getty Images.

What stands out about this strong statement is not the criticism, which is already routine in this dispute, but the names put on the table. Despite the crossfire, the current leadership headed by Riquelme looked to that exact same core when thinking about solutions for the bench.

Rodolfo Arruabarrena, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Carlos Tevez, and Martín Palermo all share one fundamental trait: they are club men, they know the weight of the shirt, and they have the stature to withstand the pressure of this moment at Boca.

At a club divided by two opposing visions of how to run it, it is paradoxical that their footballing diagnosis of who should be the "ideal coach" finds them on the same side. The president reached an agreement with Vasco for him to take the job.

Keep reading:

When Rodolfo Arruabarrena arrives at Boca and how long his deal will run

Arruabarrena returns to Boca: what his coaching staff will look like

Tomás Aranda’s debut for Argentina: applauded by De Paul and praised by Scaloni

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