Out of the Libertadores, out of excuses
Boca Juniors have been knocked out of the Copa Libertadores in the group stage. The score isn't even the story, the failure is. Your team won only two matches in the group, lost three, and that was never going to be enough. Leandro Paredes didn't hide from it: "No estuvimos a la altura", we weren't up to it. (1) (3)
End of an era talk is already here
Mundo Deportivo calls it a "batacazo bestial" and says this smells like a fin de ciclo, the end of a cycle. With Claudio Ubeda at the helm, the exit has fans asking hard questions about the whole project, and Juan Román Riquelme's leadership is squarely in the spotlight. (3)
Sampaoli: 'I was one step away'
As if the timing couldn't be more pointed, Jorge Sampaoli has revealed he nearly took the Boca job. Speaking about his discussions with former president Daniel Angelici, Sampaoli said he was "a un paso" from managing your club. For fans wondering what might have been, this lands like a punch. (2)
Fan reactions
The mood is grim. Supporters are pointing to raw math, Boca won two, lost three, while the teams that advanced simply took care of business. There's open talk on Reddit about voting against Riquelme at year's end, and one fan summed up the despair: "Me costó dormirme, es increíble como te amargan estos hijos de puta." Some are already looking toward the Sudamericana, but the wound is deep. Read the discussion
