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After Echavarría sanctioned the maximum penalty, there was a meeting where the executor was defined. Did Hauche and Copetti not want to expose themselves? The confession of the platinum 9 to his intimates.
It’s not a beautiful morning. The day after one of the biggest failures in blue and white history, Guillermo Francella is a meme and the fans continue with the poison in their mouths. Racing was eleven meters away from being champion and ended up losing to River, a rival who is usually his black beastbut he was far from that fearsome team that marked a golden age at the hands of Marcelo Gallardo. Behind, of course, is that penalty executed by Jonathan Galván, a newly arrived footballer, usually a substitute. And the popular fury against referents, especially with Enzo Copetti. So, the question that all Argentine soccer asks is why the scorer didn’t hit that hot ball. And what happened to Gabriel Hauche, one of the historic champions with the Academy? If he had the ball in his hand. And where was Leonardo Sigali? What happened in the run-up to that shot that Franco Armani covered?
“I wanted to kick the penalty. Galván stood up and I wasn’t going to argue”, Copetti told a close friend who consulted him at this time. And why didn’t he go for the rebound? The images that were observed in the different summaries of the television channels show the “9” with his arms akimbo, static, without blinking, at the door of the large area. Only Nicolás Oroz reacted after River’s number one save. And he shot, in a hurry, over the crossbar. The man from Chaco, on the other hand, did not move. Was he angry that the center back didn’t give him the ball?
At the time of the penalty Matías Rojas was no longer there, who had finished off with a left foot, up and, although Armani guessed the point, was unstoppable. A while before, the Paraguayan who had opened the scoring was replaced, precisely, by Hauche. When Pablo Echevarría collected a hand from Marcelo Herrera –badly valued; the defender had his back turned and opened his arms to drop Sigali, there was a kind of consortium meeting in the area. Galván grabbed a ball and the Devil, another. Gonzalo Piovi and Copetti were also on the scene. Eugenio Mena approached, who at that moment was wearing the captain’s ribbon. The striker argued with the central marker. His teammate behind him also asked him to finish off. Maxi Romero arrived. Finally, Copetti took the ball from Hauche and Galván was facing the goal.
After failing, the statistics began to flow. Galván had only kicked a penalty in regulation time. It had been in 2017 with the Aldosivi shirt and in a game that Tiburón lost 4 to 1 with Estudiantes. With the team from Mar del Plata, in addition, he finished off in two definitions for the Argentine Cup: Communications (2015) and Deportivo Morón (2016). This year, before being incorporated by Racing, he executed a shot from twelve steps for Huracán, also for the vernacular tournament, against Deportivo Madryn. He had never failed. Until Sunday, of course. It is also true that none of those penalties had been so poorly resolved. The shot was so weak that Armani easily blocked it.
The goalkeeper himself recognized an hour after the game, when a fan reproached him that thanks to that save the champion had been Boca, “they would have kicked it well, like the first penalty that was a goal. What did they want me to do?”.
A video in which Galván reveals himself to be a Boca fan also circulated on social networks, in that open 24 virtual platform. He had told about it in a note published by La Capital de Mar del Plata. In no way is it possible to think that the player failed because of his heart xeneize. A professional does not think about colors. It is clear that he burned the ball. He executed poorly. At least he had the courage to take charge.
And Fernando Gago? The technician left the situation to chance. Why didn’t he react the same way he did against Atlético Tucumán, when he sent Federico Insúa –his assistant- to tell Edwin Cardona to take a free kick that Alcaraz was already licking? So, there was an argument between the youth and the Colombian, who ended up kicking at the hands of Carlos Lampe. It was a week before the former Boca hitch was intercepted in a vehicle control with alcohol in blood, a situation that led to his separation from the squad. Yesterday he had no better idea than to “like” a publication on Boca’s Instagram that was illustrated with Darío Benedetto kissing the cup. Yes, the same Pipa who dedicated the conquest to… Copetti.
Gago did not explain. He called off the press conference, but was left at the center of the storm. Not just for the penalty. Also, due to the eliminations of the League Cup, the South American Cup and the Argentine Cup. The defeat with River was the fourth blow. How do you face the tiebreaker against Tigre, on November 2, possibly on the Huracán court? If he passes that instance, he will have the chance to face Boca for the Champions Trophy, on November 6. And there is no longer any credit for another misstep.
