Boca Juniors opened its ‘La Bombonera’ stadium in Buenos Aires this Thursday to say goodbye to its coach, Miguel Ángel Russo, He died on Wednesday at the age of 69, and it is expected that the fans will come to say goodbye to him and thank him for the titles he obtained at the Argentine club.
The central lobby of the ‘Xeneize’ court, in the heart of the La Boca neighborhood, is the place chosen to install Russo’s burning chapel, which will last until 10:00 p.m. local time (01:00 GMT on Friday) and will resume on Friday between 10:00 and 12:00 (1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. GMT).
Before the doors opened, dozens of people waited in line to enter the venue, where the organization prohibited attendees from taking photos or filming videos with their cell phones.
Ander Herrera, among the attendees
The complete First Division squad, with figures such as Leandro Paredes, the Uruguayan Edinson Cavani and spanish Ander Herrera, Among others, he already came close to firing his coach, who led the team, but a little less than a month ago he had to ask for leave due to complications derived from prostate cancer, detected in 2017 and which spread to the bladder.
The regret of Boca fans over the death of ‘Miguelo’ had its almost instantaneous correlation on social networks, which were filled with images and videos to say goodbye and thank the last coach who won a Copa Libertadores with the club, in 2007, in a team led on the pitch by Juan Roman Riquelmetoday president of the institution.
In three cycles leading the team (2006-2007, 2020-2021 and 2025), Russo won the aforementioned Libertadores in 2007, a Super League, a League Cup and the Diego Armando Maradona Cup, all three in 2020.
“The Club Atlético Boca Juniors announces with deep sadness the death of Miguel Ángel Russo. Miguel leaves an indelible mark on our institution and will always be an example of joy, warmth and effort. We accompany his family and his loved ones in this moment of pain,” expressed the ‘Xeneize’ in his profile on the social network X.
The message was accompanied by an image of the coach smiling and concluded with a greeting: “Goodbye, dear Miguel!”
Claudio UbedaRusso’s field assistant who took charge of the team during the last two games, will continue on the bench for the moment.
Saturday’s game postponed
Due to the death of the coach, the Argentine Professional Football League decided to postpone the match that was scheduled this Saturday between Boca Juniors and Barracas for the twelfth date of the Clausura Tournament.
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In parallel, the Argentine Football Association resolved that, as a sign of mourning, all matches played between this Thursday and next Sunday, both in the First Division and in the rest of the categories, will begin with a minute of silence in honor of Russo.
