Fernando Romero Nuñez 
Boca Juniors head coach Jorge Almirón presented his resignation. Just days after losing the Copa Libertadores final against Fluminense, the Xeneize coach has decided to step away amid heavy criticism over the team’s form.
“The game is just over, there is not much to think about, only the pain,” Almirón said in his press conference after the final. “We will see how everything goes, you always have to get back on your feet, [Boca] is a very big club.”
The Boca coach was under pressure. Boca had won just three of its last 20 games, the worst streak by any coach in the club’s history. With his contract due to finish in December and the Boca Juniors presidential elections in the same month, him staying in the club was heavily dependent on lifting South America’s most important club trophy.
Almirón was questioned by the press, who disagreed with the coach’s game plan and substitutions. The two losses at the hands of Superclásico rivals River Plate did little to endear him to the fans. His decisions in the Libertadores final were also questioned by his players, with defender Nicolás Figal visibly angry at being taken off near the end of the match.
After just seven months in the job, the coach wrapped up his Boca stint with 43 matches, 17 won, 13 tied and 13 lost, picking up less than half the points he contested. He also reached the Copa Argentina semifinals.
Boca announced the decision in a statement on social media, with some fans asking Xeneize’s vice president Juan Román Riquelme to offer his resignation as well.
Mariano Herrón, coach of the Boca second team, will take over temporarily once again. He had already taken the reins for two matches after the departure of Hugo Ibarra back in March 2023. It will be a crucial few weeks for Boca, who are still looking for a 2024 Copa Libertadores spot.The Xeneize is six points away from Copa de la Liga Profesional playoffs, the winner of which gets a spot at next year’s Libertadores. Boca can also qualify by finishing among the Primera Division Annual Table top four; it’s just three points away from fourth-placed Defensa y Justicia. However, it’s also just one point away from dropping from the Copa Sudamericana qualification spots.
