Boca Juniors head coach Miguel Ángel Russo is under observation at a hospital after recent tests found he was suffering a urinary tract infection. The 69-year-old coach will remain hospitalized for a day as a precautionary measure.

Russo cut an exhausted figure last Sunday, as the Xeneize visited Mar del Plata side Aldosivi in an Argentine league matchup. While it was the third straight win for a Boca team that had struggled for results in recent times, the coach’s image raised some concerns among fans and the media.

Russo’s health issues

The Boca head coach has undergone regular urinary tests since being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017. He kept working through his treatment, even admitting that he won the Torneo Finalización with the Colombian club just two days after completing a chemotherapy session.

In 2025, he returned to Boca Juniors to take over the club for a third stint. However, results haven’t been as expected. The Xeneize collapsed out of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup after a 1-1 tie with semi-professional team Auckland City FC. Russo’s team would go on to complete a 120-day winless streak, which included a run of 11 matches, with five losses and six draws, the worst in the club’s history. The previous record of 10 games without a win was first reached in 1957 and again in 2021.

A man with over 35 years of experience in football coaching, Russo has been at the helm of some of Argentina and South America’s biggest clubs, with a packed trophy cabinet to show for it. Perhaps the greatest achievement of his career was winning the 2007 Copa Libertadores while coaching Boca Juniors, with current club president Juan Román Riquelme as the star player.