Boca Juniors eye up Gago as next in line to test Gallardo’s supremacy

Here we go again. After Diego Martínez's Boca Juniors tenure ended with a whimper, the Xeneize are once again back to the drawing board with a familiar question keeping Juan Román Riquelme and his football council up at night: how on earth do we get the best of Marcelo Gallardo?

Martínez was at least spared the indignity of losing his job in a late-night meeting at a petrol station, the fate of one of his predecessors. The coach fell on his sword minutes after Boca surrendered to a timid defeat at the hands of Belgrano in Córdoba on Saturday, drawing to a close a nine-month reign that promised much but ultimately ended in defeat and disappointment. 

He also adds to an incredible, gut-wrenching run for Boca, as the eighth trainer to lose his job in the eight years (give or take a few months) Gallardo has spent on the River bench. With the writing on the wall ever since La Bombonera was left in an incendiary mood following the latest Superclásico defeat, that is another scalp ‘El Muñeco’ can add to his already healthy collection.

The question of who exactly would step into the void has been the burning issue this past week, with the polite refusals coming quick and fast. Eccentric ex-Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri had previously registered his admiration for Boca, while compatriot and former Xeneize star Daniele De Rossi was also mentioned among the more exotic options, but neither Italian appears to have been considered as a serious possibility. And though Luis Zubeldía had his backers, the São Paulo coach is not prepared to leave Brazil at this time for such a daunting task back home.

That leaves an intriguing choice for this most demanding of jobs, a former Boca favourite on the pitch and ex-team-mate of Riquelme's for the Argentina national team, who just missed out on partnering with the current president at La Bombonera. Fernando Gago has been steadily building up his reputation on the bench since repeated injury woes forced him to cut short his playing career, and while at the time of writing he has not been confirmed in the post, all signs point to the 38-year-old stepping into the breach after this weekend.

Gago's coaching career so far has yielded mixed results. With both Aldosivi and Racing Club he was able to get great results from mediocre resources at least initially – indeed, his Racing side were just beaten out to a Liga Profesional title by Boca in 2022 and then downed the Xeneize twice in cup clashes – before seeing his charges fade alarmingly towards the end. His most recent spell with Chivas has been decent, but hardly the kind of record that would see the Mexican club begrudge his departure too bitterly in exchange for a rumoured release fee of around US$1 million.

What he does bring to the table is a fresh, adventurous style of play that has been rarely seen at La Bombonera these past years, and a name instantly recognisable to fans and which could quell the bad blood currently stirring against Riquelme's administration. With only the Copa Argentina still to play for in 2024, moreover, Gago would also get the soft landing reserved for precious few Boca coaches in recent history – but sooner or later, he will have his own Gallardo reckoning, the acid test for anyone in the Boca hotseat this past decade and one that most have failed.