DistantNews
Support us
Oscar Ruggeri slams Riquelme over Boca's Libertadores exit: 'He is the first responsible'
🇦🇷 Argentina /Sports

Oscar Ruggeri slams Riquelme over Boca's Libertadores exit: 'He is the first responsible'

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Oscar Ruggeri, a former player, strongly criticized Boca Juniors president Juan Román Riquelme following the team's elimination from the Copa Libertadores.
  • Ruggeri argued that Riquelme bears absolute responsibility for the club's international failures, regardless of wins or losses.
  • He specifically mentioned the decision to appoint Claudio Úbeda as coach after the death of Miguel Ángel Russo as a point of contention.

Former football star Oscar Ruggeri has sharply criticized Boca Juniors president Juan Román Riquelme, holding him solely responsible for the club's latest international disappointment. The team's elimination from the Copa Libertadores has ignited debate, with Ruggeri leading the charge against Riquelme's leadership.

When they win, they say 'Riquelme won because he chose this person or that person.' When they lose, they want to push Riquelme out. What is this story?

— Oscar RuggeriRuggeri questioned the inconsistent attribution of success and failure to Riquelme during a broadcast.

Speaking on ESPN's F90 program, Ruggeri expressed frustration with the tendency to credit Riquelme for successes but distance him from failures. "When they win, they say 'Riquelme won because he chose this person or that person.' When they lose, they want to push Riquelme out. What is this story?" Ruggeri questioned.

No, he is the first responsible, for me, for what happened.

— Oscar RuggeriRuggeri stated his belief about Riquelme's accountability for the team's elimination.

He asserted that Riquelme is the "first responsible" for the team's performance, emphasizing that blame should not be shifted to the coach or players. Ruggeri pointed to the appointment of Claudio Úbeda as coach after the passing of Miguel Ángel Russo as a particularly lamentable decision, suggesting it reflected poor judgment from the club's leadership.

If it were another president, any, any other name that wasn't a player, they would be going after the president, because he left this coach who was the assistant of... Lamentable what happened to Miguel.

— Oscar RuggeriRuggeri contrasted how a non-player president might be treated and lamented the situation following Miguel Ángel Russo's death.

Ruggeri concluded by reiterating his stance, stating that the responsibility is "absolute" for Riquelme, regardless of the specific names involved. Host Mariano Closs acknowledged Ruggeri's opinion, which the former player readily confirmed as his personal view.

This is absolute responsibility of Riquelme.

— Oscar RuggeriRuggeri insisted on Riquelme's complete accountability for the team's performance.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog