After the elimination of Boca at the hands of Racing and after a striking change, the technical director Claudio Úbeda spoke about the Exequiel Zeballos modification by Alan Velasco, a decision that generated a strong stir among fans. The coach indicated that he had an argument to make the modification although, of course, it did not convince almost anyone.
The coach explained the reasons that led him to remove “Changuito” from the playing field, who had had a performance that provided depth on the wings. “I saw Zeballos tired and that’s why I decided to take him out,” said Úbeda, while justifying Velasco’s entry with a different tactical search. The modification did not go down well in the stands and was immediately questioned by a large part of the public, who understood that the change took away the team’s offensive imbalance at a key moment in the match.
The reaction of some footballers and the subsequent viralization of images on social networks generated even more controversy around the technical decision. Úbeda also referred to the physical complications that affected the squad, such as the discomfort suffered by Edinson Cavani during the warm-up, which conditioned the options on the substitute bench.
In that sense, he clarified that the entry of Rodrigo Aguirre responded to a different search: “Aguirre and Cavani have different characteristics and are not one-for-one changes.” Thinking about the future, the coach admitted his frustration at not having reached the final and left the door open to important definitions. “We’re going to think about how everything goes and we’ll talk to Román about what’s next. We didn’t want to end the season now,” he said.
