To his usual serenity he added a hint of sadness. Nuisance. Pain. Row. Diego Martinez He stuck out his chest and spoke after Estudiantes‘ victory on penalties, which determined the elimination of Boca in the semifinals of the League Cup and the impossibility of playing in the final.
“The feeling is of injustice. The team played a great game, a great first half. We were practically not suffering in the second. I have the sadness of having been left out unfairly, of not being able to play in a final” was the first thing he said at the press conference.
The former Tigre added: “It is very hard to be eliminated in this way, it is very annoying. The peace of mind comes from having played a good game. Now We have to try to make this anger go away quickly. and starting tomorrow, get to work for what’s coming.”
In relation to the play in which Lema hit Palacios’ head with his right boot, the coach acknowledged: “I didn’t see Cristian’s play again. I had a doubt about Miguel’s, He kicks first but it is a dubious play. I prefer not to talk about arbitration beyond decisions that did not favor us. I understand that they can make mistakes like I make mistakes as a coach or as a footballer on the field.”
When asked if Figal’s entry was related to Lema’s expulsion, Martínez explained: “The change was not because of Lema. If they put two strikers, it was playing with five. The question was who was going to be the exit, Pol or Medina.. In this, when you put a defender to seek superiority, you have to leave a midfielder who can double you. Pol was likely to come out. The expulsion and the penalty changed our ideas, it changed everything”, he recounted.
“This is a game: you win and you lose”
Juan Román Riquelme visited the Boca team in the locker room after the penalty loss against Estudiantes. And on the way out she spoke to the media. “This is a game: you win and you lose. Students must be congratulated. He is in the final and he deserves it. He missed a game and nothing more. We have to keep going”.
In relation to the match itself, president Xeneize summarized: “We had a good first half and the second half was more even. You win by scoring goals. In the first half Boca played well and made a lot of mistakes. So if others came in we would be celebrating. There was that one from Medina that they put on the line… This is like that.”
When asked what he said to the players, Riquelme minimized those words: “I told the boys that nothing was happening. The one who wins is always the one who does something better. Soccer is the most beautiful game there is. You win and you lose. We have to compete, we did it. We did well the first half. We had the hope of playing on the weekend, it was not possible and we have to continue”.
Regarding Lema’s expulsion he said: “I’m not going to talk about refereeing because otherwise it seems like we always look for excuses. We must congratulate Estudiantes and Vélez who are in the final. The penalty play is a very fast play, in which in addition to the penalty we are left with one less man.”
Finally, he repeated the concept of sadness at the elimination: “One dreams of winning the championship. We had the hope of reaching the final and for the fans to be happy and we couldn’t. There is no choice but to continue.”