Russo’s final days: in Boca colours, family by his side, 5-0 joy | OneFootball

The tears of all Argentine football reflect who Miguel Ángel Russo was. Much more than just the Boca coach, who is mourned at the age of 69 and farewelled at the wake being held at La Bombonera. The severe illness he had been battling for several years forced him to step away from the pitch at the end of September, but he spent his last days with his characteristic smile and dressed in the colors of Xeneize. That was his final wish.

While he was at home in Palermo receiving palliative care, the experienced coach asked his family and loved ones to dress him in the club's attire. He chose to leave this world wearing blue and gold shorts like the ones he wore during his first practices in the United States (his third stint began at the Club World Cup).

His health had significantly worsened since the previous Wednesday, and he was no longer in a condition to coach, so his place on the sidelines against Defensa y Central Córdoba was taken by his assistant Claudio Úbeda. However, neither his physical decline nor the distance between his home and Boca Predio prevented him from keeping a close watch on the professional team's practices.

He was often visited by his coaching staff, and over the weekend, Juan Román Riquelme also stopped by to greet him and talk about football, finding him active and in good spirits. They even used to send him material from each training session for him to analyze in detail because, despite everything, he never wanted to take off his Boca sweatshirt.

Last Sunday, although he was less lucid and more weakened, he gathered the strength to turn on the television and watch Boca's match against Newell’s in the Torneo Clausura. Like just another fan, he celebrated the 5-0 thrashing that placed his team at the top of Zone A, and his good humor was infectious to all his loved ones. "My mind races behind a ball," he had said with a broken voice one afternoon in June 2023, when he was at Rosario Central.

One of the people who accompanied him in his final days was Gonzalo Belloso, the Canalla president. “We were at his house the whole time, his wife Mónica, his children, his agent, lifelong friends,” he recounted, visibly moved by the death. He revealed that he called the AFA for a priest to give him a blessing: “When the priest finished praying the Our Father, Miguel passed away. It was a very powerful and serene scene at the same time.”

The final chapter of his life found him wearing Boca's attire, which was his last wish. He passed into eternity as the Xeneize coach, the last to win the Copa Libertadores with these colors. Embraced by all of Argentine football, especially Central, Lanús, Estudiantes, and Vélez, who will never forget his "moments and decisions."

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