Boca lost the final

The stadium of Vélez Sarsfield was a witness of the game, filled up to bursting with the fans of both teams. Boca and Estudiantes played for the title of Argentine soccer.

Boca was more than its opponent during the whole first half. It husbanded the time of the game carefully and distributed the ball intelligently, while Simeone’s team was imprecise in its passing.

Boca’s superiority was evident from kickoff onwards. The first time it got into the rival area Barros Schelotto passed the ball to Ledesma on the left, who sent a long cross beyond the second goalpost to Martín Palermo. The striker volleyed with his right foot and netted the ball beyond the reach of goalie Andujar. Boca was on its way to the title.


La Volpe’s team seemed calmer and surer, playing the ball in depth. The midfield of Estudiantes was conspicuous for its absence: Galván, Braña, Verón, Angeleri, Alvarez were at odds with the ball. Near the end of the first half it created danger for Boca with some freekicks and cornershots and two shots fired by Pavone, one of which hit the goalpost.

The last minutes went by in an atmosphere of conflict between the two teams. On account of a physical clash and the ensuing reaction of Alvarez the latter and Pablo Ledesma were sent off.

The second half witnessed an impressive comeback on the part of Estudiantes. At 19’ Sosa succeed in scoring the equalizer. He fired a freekick which curled its way over the barrier and into the right angle of Bobadilla’s goal.
After the draw La Volpe’s team went forward on the field, but lacked ideas to regain the edge in the score. Estudiantes adopted the counterattack tactic and was able to unlevel the score in its favor thanks to Pavone after a misunderstanding in Boca’s defence.

The minutes went by and Boca was in a hurry to tie again to be able to gain access to the 30’ of supplementary time. However, Estudiantes withstood the storm and could even have widened its edge. The title was lost by very little. Simeone’s team is now celebrating the title. It is the legitimate champion of the Apertura tournament.