Ex-team-mates Milito and Verón lead boyhood clubs into Clausura final clash

Back in 2010 they were team-mates, both part of Argentina’s abortive bid to regain the World Cup that fell apart against Germany. Now Diego Milito and Juan Sebastían Verón will be on opposite sides of the 2025 Clausura final – not on the field or even directing play from the bench, but in the comfort of the executive boxes of the Estadio Madre de Ciudades as presidents of their respective boyhood clubs.

Feel old yet? This writer certainly does. Racing’s clash against Estudiantes to decide the second champion of the year after Platense (maybe third if we were to count Central, but let’s not) is full of nostalgia for fans of early 21st century football but it is also a testament to the talents of two stars who were able to make that toughest of transitions, from the pitch to the boardroom.

In Verón’s case particularly it has been a rough road, especially over the last 12 months. The Estudiantes supremo will have only a spiritual presence in Santiago del Estero this Saturday – he is currently serving a six-month ban from footballing activities, handed down by the Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia’s AFA as punishment for the Pincha turning their backs on Rosario Central in the first round of the current play-off competition. Before that, the erstwhile sublimely talented midfielder had to weather the storm over John Textor’s murky involvement in Estudiantes at the turn of 2025, still not entirely clarified nor ratified by member vote as was stated. Verón also watched his beloved team go out of the Copa Libertadores in agonising fashion, eliminated via penalties by eventual champions Flamengo, and squeeze into the play-offs by the narrowest of margins.

Once there, Estudiantes rallied to beat two supposedly untouchable outfits, annual table ‘champs’ Central in Rosario and Central Córdoba, from the home of Verón’s sworn enemy Pablo Toviggino – “multi-coloured beret” was one of the AFA treasurer’s pet names for La Bruja amid that whole Tunnelgate storm. In the semis awaited none other than the Pincha’s arch-rivals Gimnasia, in front of a heaving home support and desperate to redress the balance in the famously lopsided Clásico Platense. Estudiantes spent most of the game on the back foot but survived again with another formidable rearguard effort, and took the best chance of the game when Tiago Palacios popped up in the box to convert Edwin Cetré’s low cross. Heartbreak for the hosts, but more evidence, were it needed, that this Estudiantes team, with Verón at the helm, just refuses to lie down.

That same aversion to prone positions characterises their final opponents. Racing surged past Boca on Sunday to complete their Superclásico play-off scalp set, Adrián ‘Maravilla’ Martínez finally living up to his nickname with a towering header that broke 10-game goal drought and sent the ever-excitable Gustavo Costas into typically manic celebrations. 

Costas is the symbol of this Racing team, and rightly so, but we would be amiss if we failed to mention the man at the head of the institution, even if that low profile is exactly how he likes it. Milito admittedly inherited an enviable situation from long-time president Víctor Blanco when he won the 2024 elections, but that brings its own challenges. How do you replace one of the best directors in club history, who delivered success on and off the field and was not shy at all and making it known just how crucial he was to all of that?

It has not all been smooth sailing. The “jump in quality” Milito promised during the campaign has been used as a stick to beat him with during low points, particularly following the forced sale of Maxi Salas and a somewhat underwhelming winter transfer window that failed to immediately fill the hole left by the burly striker. Racing suffered their own narrow defeat to Flamengo in the Copa semis, hot on the heels of Copa Argentina elimination against Salas and River, and with things going wrong in the Liga Profesional de Fútbol too the spotlight was firmly placed on the president and his talent-spotting structure.

Vindication came eventually. Despite a horrendous run of injuries Racing have put together a 12-game unbeaten streak in the league which has carried them to the verge of their first title since 2019. The signings that looked so mediocre back in July have largely found their feet, with the mercurial Duván Vergara perhaps the best example that time is the best medicine. Following up Blanco is still no easy task, but a title on Saturday to add to February’s Recopa triumph over Botafogo would be a step in the right direction – not that Verón’s Estudiantes will be in any mood to facilitate that as thousands of fans prepare to descend on Santiago del Estero.

Football is not always fair, but it does have its way of restoring the natural balance. Racing and Estudiantes competed better than any other Argentine team in the 2025 Libertadores and even with the extra workload that entails remained competitive over the course of both halves of this Liga Profesional season. Whether they are the two best teams in the country right now we will leave for more bombastic commentators to claim. But they certainly have two of the best young (and they are still young, honest!) administrators in football fighting their corner, which bodes well for the future whatever the outcome this Saturday.