The elimination by penalties at the hands of Estudiantes marked for Boca the beginning of the end of the season. After two days of rest, the team led by Diego Martínez returned to practice this Friday with their mind set on Thursday’s game against Trinidadfor the fourth date of the South American Cup. However, Both the coaching staff and the Xeneize leadership are already beginning to define the ups and downs of the squad. for the second half of the year. In particular, the situation of those footballers who were hardly used by Martínez and will embark on new paths in search of greater continuity. In that sense, Dario Benedettohe Boca’s top scorer in activityyou can be the first to pack your bags.
With scarcely three games as a starter this year (Tigre, Defensa y Justicia and Nacional Potosí), the forward who returned to Boca at the beginning of 2022 Seriously consider the possibility of terminating your relationshipwhich is valid Until december 31 2024. Pipa is not a priority for Martínez and His cycle in Boca is about to come to an end. “This is the last year”they trusted to THE NATION from the attacker’s inner circle. And they left the door open to a possible departure in June: “At most, with luck, he will stay until December.” The club did not begin negotiations with its representative (it did, for example, with the Peruvian Luis Advíncula, who is close to signing until 2026) and everything indicates that he will go to the market in search of another 9.
Beyond the physical problems that hindered his continuity, it is clear that this second stage of Benedetto was light years away from the performance of the first: 26 goals in 100 gamescon just one goal in the last 20. Furthermore, the relationship with the leadership is far from good. In May 2022, the team’s representatives led a salary claim before a match with Corinthians in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores. The players came to evaluate the decision not to concentrate, an idea that was finally discarded. Benedetto missed two penalties – one in the second leg and another in the tiebreaker shootout – and there was no turning back. Carlos Izquierdoz was marginalized from the team and went to Spain, while Pipa continued in Boca but without the support of other times.
From then on, and despite the trust given by the coaches on duty, his performance and image declined. He publicly clashed with Agustín Almendra, got into blows with his teammate Carlos Zambrano, saw the red card when playing the Champions Trophy against Racing in Villa Mercedes (the tumult led to the suspension of the match) and ended up losing his position after the arrival of Edinson Cavani. His last good memories are the 1-0 goal over River in the 2022 Professional League and the triplet against Patronato for the Argentine Super Cup, at the beginning of March 2023. If he leaves next June, Benedetto will have to compensate Boca for the remaining six months of his contract, or terminate by mutual agreement with the leadership.
Darío Benedetto‘s last goal in a superclassic
The situation of Frank Fabra It is quite similar to Pipa’s. The footballer who more presences accumulated in Boca in the last ten years He is the third left-back defender on the team (he has Lautaro Blanco and Marcelo Saracchi ahead of him) and during the year he played only six games, of which he played less than 7 minutes in three. Expelled in the final of the 2023 Copa Libertadores lost against Fluminense, the Colombian He was close to leaving in Decemberbut decided, with the support of Roman Riquelmestay to fight.
The expulsion of Frank Fabra in the final for the Copa Libertadores
Fabra has a link with Boca until the end of 2025 y His intention is to remainsince in May she will see her second child born and His family’s wish is to settle permanently in Argentina.. The pass book for local football will open on June 1, when three dates of the Professional League have passed, and will close only at the end of August, so Fabra is open to listening to offers if participation is not achieved. desired.
Another weight loss can be Nicolas Valentinithe defender who came into conflict with the board over the renewal of his contract and is sidelined from the squad since the beginning of last month. He Viking made known his desire to play in Europe and although the talks with his agent continue “open”, the differences seem insurmountable. The Valentini Nexus will expire on December 31 and his termination clause It is 10,000,000 dollars, but no club will pay that amount taking into account the short time left on his contract. In that scenario, Valentini can emigrate in the next market or remain “hanging” in Boca until the end of the year and then leave with a free pass, in his power. Martínez no longer has the defender and it remains to be seen if he will ask for a replacement.
Goal by Nicolás Valentini against Independiente
Norberto Briasco, Lucas Johnson y Vicente Taborda are some of the footballers who already have the sign of “negotiable”. Briasco arrived in mid-2021 and failed to settle. The club paid 3.8 million dollars for 80% of the passbut the investment did not work: the Armenian by adoption accumulates four goals in almost three years. With Martínez he added 128 minutes in five games (four in the League and one in Sudamericana). Has contract until December 2025 and is sought by several Argentine entities. His chances will be even more diminished after the return of Exequiel Zeballoswhat prepares his return for May once you fully recover from a ligament injury.
Janson appears in the same situation, who is represented by Daniel Bolotnicoff (Riquelme’s historic agent) and signed with Boca until December 2027. His first year in the xeneize team passed with more pain than glory: 29 performances, two goals. Martínez used it very little, but he considers it a player “to recover”. The former Vélez and Tigre attacker He would leave Boca only if he received a call from abroad.
Taborda is the one who played the fewest minutes. He appeared in four games in 2024 and was a substitute in another eight. In December he had the chance to return to Platense, but He chose to continue in Boca. Martínez knows him from the lower divisions; However, he hardly gave her any opportunities. Neither he nor those around him were told anything about his future, but it is known that He would be one of the players who will not be taken into account. Both Taborda and Juan Ramirez They have contracts until December 2026, but none would be to the DT’s taste. The former San Lorenzo midfielder starred in three games this year and was left out of the squad in a handful of games, including the semifinal with Estudiantes.
The list of expendables is closed by Ezekiel Bullaude, whom Martínez directed in Godoy Cruz but who also did not give rise to the first blue and gold. He loan of the steering wheel will expire at the end of the year and the Purchase option set by Feyenoord, from the Netherlands, is four million dollarsan unpayable sum for a player who went practically unnoticed by the fans and the coach.
This Thursday, Boca will host Trinidense in an important match for their aspirations in the South American Cup. However, the mind is already set on the next transfer market. In the reconstruction of a team that cannot afford another setback.