Chapter 119: Ischea's Decision
Even with all the preparations, even if he knew before the game that he had to give his all to win this away game, even if he had done his best, Boca still lost when he least deserved to lose, and made mistakes when he should not have made mistakes.
The defeat in this game directly cost Boca the lead in the final moments of the league title race, but fortunately, the starting goalkeeper Ischa played a brilliant role in this game to keep Boca in the draw and score a point, and also allowed San Lorenzo, who won against Argentina**, to only exceed the score by one point. This also means that as long as San Lorenzo draws or loses in the final round of the league, and Boca takes all three points, then Boca can still win the league without danger.
After all, both in terms of goal difference and the relationship between wins and losses, Boca has an absolute advantage.
However, after the game, the Boca players led by coach Ischea were unanimously criticized by the media in the region, and the Boca players who gave up the initiative could not make any objection to this, so they could only continue to cheer themselves up in an interview, calling on the fans to still firmly give strong support to the team in the final round.
In this situation, all eyes are on the final round of the Liga in a few days and the final of the Copa Sudamericana in ten days, even the Boca fans, who are very unhappy with the team, and Santhiago is gradually being left behind. Of course, everyone knows that this is just a temporary oblivion, and both Ischea and Bianchi believe that if they show the slightest hint of a serious return to the starting line-up, it will provoke a new round of protests from the fans.
Therefore, even if Boca's current situation cannot be lost, and the team urgently needs full firepower, coach Ischea still does not dare to recall Santilago. And Santhiago himself understands this, and in the next few days he almost disappeared from the media except for insisting on training, and even the reporters who have been following him have struggled to come up with more exciting news because Santigo has delayed negotiations with the rest of the clubs.
There is no doubt that this is the role played by Riquelme's words, Santi still hesitated in the end, when faced with a choice, after careful consideration, he didn't want to carry a bad reputation anymore, he didn't want this matter to become an indelible stain on his career, what is the difference between a player who turns against his parent club fans and a homeless wanderer?
Shengti doesn't have the luxury of becoming the king here, he doesn't even think about it, he just wants to be able to leave with dignity and dignity without any stain, which he deserves! With this in mind, while continuing his training, Santi motioned Isabella, as his agent, to knock on the side to ask the current club management what they thought of him and what his attitude was.
But to Santi's disappointment, Mr. Bianchi, who has always valued him a lot, did not respond immediately, but asked Isabella to stabilize Santi first, let Santi calm down, and the club will give Santhiago a reasonable explanation. For such a prevarication, before Santi had time to express his attitude, the last round of the league in the A-League started as scheduled.
On December 15, in the 19th round of the A1 League, Boca Juniors played at home against Atletico Cologne.
Founded in 1905 by a group of South American students, Atletico Cologne in the middle of the table had a sparse record until the mid-90s, when they really took off and became a top-three regular. In 1998, he won the right to participate in the Copa Libertadores, but he never won the league championship. However, Atletico Cologne are a team that does not rest on their laurels, and since the arrival of 39-year-old coach Antonio Mohammed at the club, he has delivered great results and pushed the team to the limit.
Striker Fuertes scored 12 goals in the 2006-07 autumn league season, and Nieto joined from the Hurricanes and scored 12 goals in the 2007-08 spring league. Therefore, Fuertes and Nieto are arguably the sharpest striker combination in the Argentine league at the moment, and as long as the Atletico Colón defence continues to play steadily, then they will definitely cause Boca a lot of problems in this game.
Sure enough, in the face of Boca, who was in urgent need of three points, even if they were away, the players of Atletico Colón, who had no desire in the rankings, did not have any mercy, they were full of firepower in the game, and Boca You went back and forth, and they launched a big offensive battle without timidity, and only scored three goals in the first half, which made the fans addicted.
Boca fans are sweating at the same time as they scream for their lives, no one wants to lose this game, they don't even dare to imagine what it will be like to face Boca if they lose the game. The same is true of Santiago, who saw this scene through the live broadcast, he is very conflicted in his heart, neither wanting Boca to finally miss out on the championship this season, but also not wanting Boca to go too well and make people ignore him, such a contradiction can be said to have tormented Santiago during this time.
Entering the second half, Riquelme struggled to defend himself against his opponents, especially in the absence of Santtiago, and was isolated in midfield. Seeing this, coach Ischea missed St. Ty more and more at the same time, he had to send two substitute forwards to assist Riquelme, although the situation improved, but it was useless to become three forwards on the field, too much repetition made Riquelme, who occupied the middle position, completely stopped, and was almost completely restricted.
However, as the core of the team, Riquelme finally stood up at the most critical moment, in the face of Atletico Cologne's stormy attack, he almost miraculously flashed suddenly, it was under the leadership of Riquelme's sudden return to state that Boca not only stabilized the defense, but also played two quick counterattacks in a row, and finally fixed the score at 3:2 and won the game.
When the referee blew the whistle for the end of the match after 90 minutes, the stadium fell silent and not a single fan cheered for the victory, they were all waiting for the result of the match between San Lorenzo and the Argentine youth on the other side, the result that would decide the final league title.
At this moment, all Boca people are praying for the Argentine youth, hoping that the team behind Atletico Colón will be able to overcome their worst enemy, even if it is a draw, because only in this way can Boca win the league trophy as he wishes.
But the final result still gave Boca a resounding slap in the face, and in the face of Boca's chance to give up in the last round, how could San Lorenzo let it go? In the final round against the Argentine youths, San Lorenzo also launched a furious attack amid the clamor of their own fans, and they showed team quality that a mid-table team like the Argentine youth could not resist.
Therefore, with the concerted efforts of San Lorenzo, they won the game, took all three points, took the supreme La League trophy in their arms, and sent the bad news to the Candy Box Stadium.
When the news of the Argentine youngsters' defeat reached the Candy Box Stadium, the stands, where not a single Boca fan had left for 20 minutes after the match, were instantly enveloped in despair and sadness, and the Boca people, armed with fireworks and celebratory banners, threw these dazzling objects into the distance and let out the most angry roars. This sentiment undoubtedly infected everyone, and even more so the players on the pitch who were waiting for the results, the young players sat on the ground as if they had been evacuated, their eyes blank and dazed, and the veterans stood still watching the apocalyptic scene in silence.
Winning the league title at home, the dream of a double season was shattered in an instant, and the players' brains fell into a blank for a while.
Looking at the fans who were mourning, or even emotional, and scolded themselves, all the generals couldn't raise their heads, so they could only bow their heads.
Coach Ischea stomped his feet hard after getting the news, muttered a sentence in his mouth and did not comfort his disciples, and quickly left the candy box stadium in chaos. He didn't want to face the next overwhelming media, this is Boca's shame, and even more so his shame! Not only did they miss out on the title, but it could even be said that they voluntarily conceded this supreme title!
In the Spring League, which has only nineteen rounds and no room for error, they made an unforgivable mistake!
In the face of media interviews, although the Boca generals did not blame each other, the dissatisfaction in their words could not be concealed. There is no way, everyone will have emotions in the face of this situation, especially when you can see disappointed fans when you look up, and this happens to give the media unlimited imagination and room to play. Unfortunately, Boca, who is second in the standings, even more than the champion-winning San Lorenzo on the second day, amplified the words of the Boca players after the game, exaggerating the contradictions that never existed, all of which made Boca's situation even worse.
The morale blow was a huge blow to the atmosphere in the dressing room, and the young players simply did not know how to face the next cup final, and the pressure was multiplied on everyone's heads.
Looking at this season's La Liga, there have actually been too many factors that people didn't expect, and in the middle of this is almost fantastic for Boca! In addition to reaching the final of the Copa Sudamericana and the prospect of winning the league, their biggest rivals, River Plate, lost back-to-back games in the second half of the season and slipped into the relegation zone, something that no one could have predicted before this season!
If you look back at River Plate's past, you will see the likes of Saviola and Aimar taking on big responsibilities in the league. But this is not the case today, and Riverplate is more likely to show signs of success in the future than it is in the present. River Plate's sluggish form in the league, their position at the bottom of the table, and their tactical ineffectiveness have not allowed Simeone to focus more on the youth team and dig deeper into the promising young players from his own echelon.
The 17-year-old Mauro Diaz is only playing for the first team in his second time in the national derby, and despite the use of Musac, Gustabo and Darmian this year, their appearances have not improved the squad.
And all this also made one of the former hegemons of the Liga under the command of Simeone, and finally slipped to the bottom of the standings, coupled with River Plate's recent defeat in the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana to the Mexican Chivas, which also became the last straw that crushed Simeone. Shortly after the end of the final round of the league, Simeone met with River Plate president Jose Aguilar and others to inform them of his decision to resign, and although Aguilar and others tried to keep Simeone, the famous Argentine coach was so determined that he could not face the overwhelming condemnation of River Plate fans.
Leaving is the only outcome.
Although River Plate, which is at the bottom of the standings, will not be relegated immediately, but will be based on next season's rankings to arrive at the final degraded team, Simeone's dismal dismissal has been plunged into the heart of Boca coach Ischaia like a sharp sword.
Compared with Simeone, Ischea is much inferior in terms of prestige and resume, even if Boca's results are second in the league this season, but after missing out on the championship, the voice of questioning him still sounds, and in this case, the final of the Club Sud Cup has become a lifeline for Ischea. If he wins this continental championship, then he can save Boca's face and renew his own Boca coaching career!
If he misses out on the championship again, then the shame of the double king will be the only reason to let him go, and even the respected Bianchi will not be able to calm the anger of the fans.
Therefore, in the face of the final of the Southern Club Cup, where there was no way out, Ischea thought twice, put the wine glass in his hand and dialed the phone number of Saint-Tiago.
From the very beginning, Ischea was the one who was optimistic about Santhiago, there is no doubt about it, although he had to send Santi to the second team in the face of the anger of the fans, but this time he couldn't care so much! Compared to the dissatisfaction of the fans, it is Ischea who has to think about the championship! He believes that as long as he can successfully win this championship worth thousands of dollars, then what if the fans have a lot of grievances?
No matter how bad the situation is, is it bad to get out of class by yourself? Is it bad to be crowned a double Asian king in a season?
With this in mind, Ischea no longer hesitates, he needs Santhiago to return and face the final game with full form.
Coach Ischea's phone call was a long drought for Santígo, and the two hit it off to strengthen Ischea's determination, and the next day, Santiago returned to the first team to practice with his team-mates.