End of the first half in the Cilindro de Avellaneda. A discreet 0-0. A campus that boils. A game that burns. Referee Fernando Rapallini’s whistle sounded like the bell of the first round between the players of Boca Juniors. The sleeve that connected the field and the ‘Xeneize’ locker room, then, not only received a shower of insults from the ‘Imperial Guard’ but also punches, kicks, pineapples and papayas began to fall. The visual report? Carlos Zambrano came out in the second half of the match with the ‘Rocky Balboa’ version of his face, while Darío Benedetto he couldn’t hide the bruised lip, the scratch on his neck, the bruised ear, the reddened nose. There was quilombo, confirmed Morena BeltránESPN reporter, from the crime scene.
READ ALSO | Argentine newspaper reports details about the alleged fight between Carlos Zambrano and Darío Benedetto
And social networks exploded. The second half didn’t matter anymore. Neither the failed attempts of Fernando Gago’s team nor the stumbles of the eleven of ‘Black’ Ibarra. This Boca Juniors that fell thrashed 3-0 against Patronato and beat Agropecuario (1-0) just enough, gives away more non-sports news than happiness on the field. He woke up on Monday, August fortnight, in 11th place in the Argentine Super League with 19 points (9 less than the leader Atlético Tucumán).
“There was an argument. I know there was an argument and nothing more than that. Later, I can talk to you about the match”, responded Hugo Ibarra, coach of Boca Juniors, when the Argentine press found him in the mixed zone of the Racing Club Cylinder. About the Zambrano hit? “I have no idea, ninety minutes were played, perhaps there was also something that could have happened to him in the game,” ‘Black’ tried to explain with obvious discomfort.
El ring ‘Bostero’
The press present at the ‘Academia’ stadium, meanwhile, sought to confirm what Morena Beltrán, an ESPN field reporter, told reporter Sebastián ‘Pollo’ Vignolo during the broadcast. “They told me that there was a crossover (fight) with Benedetto going up the sleeve,” said the journalist while the images of the initial claim of “Pipa” were shown to his teammates at the end of the first half. “If we are watching when they throw the centers, they are going to score a goal for us”, the attacker said furiously, according to Argentina’s Olé. The protest likely sparked the fight against Zambrano on the way to the locker room.
“They confirm to me from security that there were indeed spins between Benedetto and Zambrano, on the way to the locker room once the Racing-Boca PT was over. Their own companions had to separate them and the police even had to intervene. Another busy week is coming,” journalist Pablo Carrozza reported on Twitter, anticipating that in Casa Amarilla the main issue will be who hit the hardest on the blue and yellow campus.
Carrozza himself explained in a tweet the possible reason that caused the fight. “Ibarra looks like a guy who sells snowy jeans on Avellaneda Avenue. With all due respect for what he has achieved as a footballer, he cannot even direct Boca’s senior football. He doesn’t play anything. They do not give a pass to a meter. Racing deserved to go into the break 6 to 0 ″, he commented.
The discreet level that Boca Juniors has been showing on the field, Hugo Ibarra’s hurried replacement of Sebastian Battaglia after the elimination of the Copa Libertadores, Edinson Cavani’s refusal to wear the ‘Xeneize’ shirt and the constant controversies of the squad outside the stadiums (Benedetto publicly criticized Agustín Almendra as soon as he arrived at the team at the beginning of the year, for example) they show the hive that the club directed by Juan Román Riquelme lives from the offices of the Board of Directors.
The ‘Lion’ does not negotiate
Carlos Zambrano did not take long to speak out on his social networks after the bitter 0-0 that Boca Juniors achieved against Racing. “Complicated game, but ‘delivery’ of the group is not negotiable,” tweeted the defender of the Peruvian team. This was the only pronouncement of one of those involved. Darío Benedetto, on his account, did not give any statements after the match for date 13 of the Argentine Super League.
The ‘León’ had already experienced two controversial episodes since he arrived at Boca Juniors. The first was when he almost came to blows against Cristian Pavón. What happened? The Argentine right winger left the field upset in an official match and threw a bottle of water into the ‘Xeneize’ substitute bench. The liquid splashed on Zambrano, who angrily protested. Only the intervention of his teammates prevented the Peruvian and the Argentine from fighting.
On the second occasion, Zambrano couldn’t stand it when Franco Troyansky, a Unión de Santa Fe player, dedicated his team’s winning goal to ‘La 12’, the official supporter of Boca Juniors. At the end of the game, the central defender attacked his rival and caused both teams to face each other in front of the television cameras.
Zambrano’s third episode was experienced last Sunday night against ‘Pipa’, who demanded greater dedication from his teammates against Racing. The ‘León’, who received 4 rating points from Diario Olé, came out in front to curb the striker’s criticism. Curiosity is worth it, Benedetto has the word “loyalty” tattooed on his head, the same one that the ‘Lion’ removed using it as a punching bag.