Gago aiming to put injuries behind him and orchestrate Superclasico victory

“It makes me very happy that Boca has raised its level and this has to do with one name: Fernando Gago.”  

These were the words of Boca Juniors’ iconic, two-time Copa Libertadores winner Mauricio Serna this week after Fernando Gago inspired Los Xeneizes to victory over Racing Club in La Bombonera. While the visitors floundered in midfield, it was the often-maligned Gago who metronomically kept Boca ticking. After seven months on the treatment table (again) the 30-year-old will take centre stage in Argentine football’s biggest spectacle on Sunday. For all its passion, noise, colour and energy, the Superclásico is often a turgid affair on the pitch and while it doesn’t hold particularly fond memories for Gago, this weekend’s clash is a wonderful opportunity for Boca to take a firm grip of the title race on their fierce rival’s own patch. 

Chicho Serna and the rest of the Argentine football media were absolutely correct in their appraisal of Gago’s influence in the win over Racing, but in fairness to Guillermo Barros Schelotto there were already signs that Boca were beginning to find form. The almost nine-month wait for an away win was finally ended a couple of weeks prior to Fernando Gago’s return and the club had gone unbeaten in the league since the opening weekend. 

Barros Schelotto’s 4-2-3-1 formation had begun bearing fruit not only through the pace and guile of the attack but the growing understanding between Pablo Pérez and Rodrigo Bentancur in central midfield, with the young Uruguayan grasping a better understanding of his defensive duties. However, Gago’s return from injury has seen an interesting shift that has arguably made Boca an even greater threat. 

Adding another ‘number five’ and going to a 4-3-1-2, Boca are able to take a firmer grip on the midfield and arguably there are very few better at retaining possession and spying passes from deep than Gago. Against Racing, the former Argentina international made 81 passes - 30 more than anyone else on the pitch - with an 88.9% success rate, but the experienced midfielder also showed the variety to know when to simply keep the ball and when to look for the runs of Cristian Pavón and Walter Bou.   

This won’t have been lost on River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo and despite the club playing in the Copa Argentina final next Thursday, the Superclásico will dictate a strong side made fully aware of what must be done to shut down the Boca engine room.  

Former River boss Matías Almeyda conceded this when discussing the tactics ahead of this Sunday’s match: “Gago’s return changed Boca. What he contributed in the two games [since his return from injury] showed his quality. He is quick to see these spectacular passes between the lines and in the match against Racing he created a lot,” explained the current Chivas coach. 

“How do you mark him? It is not easy and Marcelo [Gallardo] must be thinking about that,” Almeyda added somewhat unhelpfully. Leonardo Ponzio is the natural ‘spoiler’ in the River side but he will presumably be occupied by Carlos Tevez in his role operating behind the striker so the responsibility of closing down Gago will fall to River’s more advanced players like Andrés D’Alessandro. 

In previous Superclásicos and other key matches under Gallardo, River have shown a more physical side and no Argentine derby is complete without its fair share of full blooded challenges. Perhaps more than any other player, Gago will be in line for this type of rough-housing. 

While the glamour and glory of the Superclásico makes it an event that most players yearn for, for Gago it is synonymous with pain and misfortune. His recent injury comeback stems from a serious Achilles injury suffered in April’s Superclásico at La Bombonera and that was after spending months on the sidelines from an original Achilles injury suffered in October 2015 at the Monumental when Gago fell to the turf unchallenged less than a minute into the famous fixture. 

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Two career threatening injuries consecutively against the same side will play on the mind and Gago admitted that after the recurrence he did consider hanging up his boots. “At first I did [consider retiring] because I didn’t feel like going through the recovery process again. It was a very serious injury, more so than the first with a longer and more complicated recovery period,” he said. Add in a wrongful sending off for a handball prior to that first injury and you can see why Gago might not relish the date with River as much as others.  

This well documented history of injuries and perhaps his failure to live up to the lofty expectations that go with signing for Real Madrid at a young age cause many to see Gago in a very negative light but there is little doubting his talent and his potential to be the key in Sunday’s showdown with River. 

In an era punctuated by controversy rather than goals, there is an intrigue ahead of Sunday. Boca coping with the body blow of failing to qualify for international competition in 2017 are hungrily chasing the title as the Primera’s leading goal scorers. River Plate, on the other hand, could not only book their place in the continent’s biggest tournament after next week’s Copa Argentina final, but refuse to allow their arch rivals to gather further momentum in their own backyard and in Sebastián Driussi have the league’s top marksman.  

For all these reasons, and the hundred-plus years of history behind one of world football’s most famous matches, still make the Superclásico compulsive viewing.