The president of Boca, Jorge Amor Ameal, confirmed Hugo Ibarra as coach of the professional team until the end of the year on Monday. In a press conference given at the club together with the new DT and Jorge Bermúdez, representative of the Football Council, the top xeneize leader announced that the exlateral will command the coaching staff that will also include Leandro Gracián and Roberto Pompei as collaborators.
“We want to present the coaching staff that will work from now until December 31. We are very happy to welcome them,” said Ameal at the start of a meeting in which it was made clear that they would only answer “soccer questions.” Then Bermúdez tried to clarify the reasons why they opted for the player from Formosa. “We believe that it is the best for the moment. The subsequent decision has to be agreed and we do not have to make a mistake”, explained the former Colombian defender.
Ibarra was a Reserve coach until last week, when took over on an interim basis to replace Sebastián Battaglia, sacked on Wednesday after elimination of the team in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores against Corinthians. El Negro already led the squad last Saturday, when Boca lost 2-1 to San Lorenzo, in a match in which he arranged for the then-captain Carlos Izquierdoz to remain on the substitute bench.
“It was a technical decision, for that I am the coach, I have the responsibility. I thought what was best for the team.” Ibarra argued to justify the departure of the central defender from the team, although the versions indicate that the defender was responsible for leading a meeting in which the players demanded that the leaders raise the prizes.
Beyond the traumatic way in which he arrived at the position, Ibarra expressed hope that he would be able to carry out a good job. “I am very happy, happy. I love this club very much, it gave me more than I thought in my life. As a player I left everything to the last drop of perspiration and today I have an important role, a very nice challenge to be in this club as a coach”explained Ibarra, who won 13 titles during his three stages as a club footballer, between 1998 and 2010.
As for the interference of the Football Council, with Juan Román Riquelme at the helm, Ibarra tried to minimize it, beyond the obvious power that the entity’s vice president has. “With the council and the President we talk continuously. We are going to do the work little by little. We have the best squad, for my taste, in Argentine football, we are in the biggest club in the world and, based on that, we have to do everything that remains to be played to win,” remarked the Reserve’s coach until now.
