Boca Juniors fans have been eagerly waiting to find out who the next coach of the team will be ever since Juan Román Riquelme won club authority elections a little under two weeks ago. Their wait finally ended on Friday, just three days before the end of the year: former Huracán head coach Diego Martínez signed a contract until December 2025 and is scheduled to start working with the team once the players return from their holiday recess on January 2. 

Boca confirmed the news and welcomed Martínez via a post on X published shortly before midnight. “Welcome to the only great one, Diego!” the release said. A picture of the new coach signing his contract alongside Professional Football Council member Marcelo Delgado accompanied the statement. 

This will be a return of sorts for Martínez, 45, given that the former football player got his start as a coach in the youth divisions of Boca Juniors. After that, he went on to become the first division head coach for Godoy Cruz, Tigre — which he managed to clasify back from the second to the top division —, and Huracán. 

Although the rumors tying Martínez to Boca have been buzzing for a while, a deal could not be reached because the coach was still trying to get out of the final six months of his contract with Huracán. On Thursday, the club from Parque Patricios announced on their social media channels that Martínez had agreed to financially compensate them for the early termination of his contract.  

“[Martínez’s relationship] with the club is over,” the press release said. 

The issue surrounding Boca’s coach has been hovering over the club ever since Jorge Almirón resigned shortly after losing the Copa Libertadores final against Fluminense in November. It even became a topic in the recent elections for club authorities when opposing ticket led by Andrés Ibarra and former Boca president Mauricio Macri said that, if they won, former Boca star Martín Palermo would take the helm of the top team. Riquelme, for his part, stayed mum on the subject and never hinted at who he’d pick for coach. 

Boca is scheduled to play three competitions in the first semester of 2024: local tournaments Copa de la Liga and Copa Argentina, as well as regional competition Copa Sudamericana. The team’s first official match will be the last weekend of January away against Platense.