Boca coach Miguel Russo confident after his side beats Etoile
Wednesday, 12 December 07, 09:05 AM · Comments(2)
Boca Juniors coach Miguel Russo was in a bullish mood after watching his ten-men side struggle to beat Tunisian outfit Etoile du Sahel 1-0 at the National Stadium in Tokyo tonight.
When asked about Boca's four bookings - including two to midfielder Fabian Vargas, who was sent off in the sixty-fifth minute, Russo responded "yellow cards are a part of football. I don't think Vargas was rough, but maybe the referee thought he had to be strong? For us, we played a very clean match."
Russo went on to claim that Boca had the players to cover Vargas' suspension in the final, but suggested that his team needs to improve - particularly in midfield, if they are to lift the FIFA Club World Cup. He was also critical of his strikers Martin Palermo and Rodrigo Palacio, whom he claimed "did not function well."
Nevertheless Russo told a packed media confidence that he was satisified with the result. "We have been aiming for this for sixth months, and Boca fans have gathered from all over the world, so we are happy to have reached the final."
The Buenos Aires giants will need to improve whomever they meet in the final, after they struggled to break down a resolute Etoile defence. The only goal arrived after Palacio did well to cut inside a defender before feeding the ball to midfielder Neri Cardozo, who blasted an unstoppable left foot drive high into the roof of Aymen Balbouli's net.
Etoile missed a golden opportunity to equalise in stoppage time, when Cape Verde striker Gilson Silva headed a difficult chance wide at the far post. The African champions gave a good account of themselves, however, with coach Bertrand Marchand claiming that his side will be highly motivated to win the 3/4 place playoff on December 16.
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Follow the adventures of me, SM, and the two Tokyo Blogging contest winners, manogil and MikeTuckerman, as we take on Japan and cover the FIFA Club World Cup 2007. News, Reviews, Photos and hopefully a few interviews!
2 Comments · Add yours
Barros? Who is Barros? Boca´s coach is Miguel Angel Russo
Hehe, you are right emiyan! I'm sorry. I'm either mildly dyslexic or I speak the worst Spanish in the world. Is it too late to say that I wrote 'Barros' on purpose just to get someone to read the
report?