When finalising a transfer, the name of the player is generally a secondary consideration for the purchasing club. In Marcos Rojo’s case, however, Racing faced a unique, not to mention rather silly, dilemma. The ex-Boca defender’s surname is also the preferred moniker of their arch-rivals Independiente, and it clearly would not do to give the red half of Avellaneda free publicity every time he takes the field.
What were La Academia to do, then? The team could have chosen a palette-based variant on his surname, plumping for Marcos Scarlet, perhaps, even Cerise or Vermillion. If they wanted to go another way Marcos Pantone 032, or Marcos RGB 239, 51, 64 have a certain ring to them, even if they may sound a touch clinical and impersonal. Ultimately they played it safe, printing Marcos R. onto the player’s shirt, which was first glimpsed in a cameo off the bench during Racing’s defeat to Peñarol, R***’s first appearance of any kind in more than three months.
Rojo comes with plenty of baggage, having spent much of his four years at La Bombonera either injured or suspended before finally leaving in the middle of a reportedly acrimonious fall-out with coach Miguel Ángel Russo. But that does not seem to have put off the Avellaneda side: when asked what Gustavo Costas was looking for in bringing him in, Marcos replied: “He wanted a son of a bitch in the team.”
The shirt uncertainty was not the only drama which accompanied the footballer formerly known as Rojo’s free transfer from Boca to Racing last week, fitting for a player who seems to attract mayhem and controversy. A technicality in AFA transfer rules means that, because he rescinded his contract with the Xeneize after July 24, Marcos will not be able to represent his new employers for the entirety of the Clausura phase of the Liga Profesional. That leaves just the Copa Argentina, in which Racing are waiting to dispute the quarter-final stage, and the Libertadores, where on the evidence of Tuesday night his participation could prove to be very short indeed.
Racing’s loss in Montevideo was another setback in what has been a rough start to this second half of the year. The departure of Maxi Salas to River Plate has robbed the attack of much of its speed and dynamism, making La Academia a much more predictable prospect to opposition defences. Star striker Adrián ‘Maravilla’ Martínez has also been a shadow of his usual self since losing his strike partner and cuts a frustrated figure on the pitch, unable to recapture the magic.
Racing were the continent’s most potent attacking force at the beginning of the year with 26 goals in the Apertura and 14 in the Libertadores group stage: in their last five Clausura and Libertadores outings, by contrast, they have managed to score just twice, most recently in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Marcos’ old club Boca. Add to that ineffectiveness up front a tendency to fall to pieces in their own six-yard box and it is easy to see why things are going wrong for the side, despite Costas’ undimmable energy on the touchline.
The ever-aggressive defender should at least feel at home upon hearing the referee’s whistle ringing in his ears: Racing have committed a whopping 41 fouls in those last two games against Boca and Peñarol while also racking up nine yellow cards. All of which suggests that Costas’ diagnosis upon signing the player he dare not name may be off the mark: more than sons of bitches, La Academia are in desperate need of calm heads and a new system which can compensate for the hole left by Salas if they are to avoid letting this season go off the rails.
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