The night of Boca against São Paulo had a protagonist who, in addition to keeping the goal in an important victory, went through a particularly painful personal moment. Álvaro Montero was one of the stars of the 1-0 at La Bombonera in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana quarter-finals, but his performance was marked by news he received just hours before the match.
The Colombian goalkeeper started despite the death of his grandmother and, once the match was over, set off for Colombia to be with his family. Rodolfo Arruabarrena confirmed the situation at a press conference and explained that the club gave him permission to leave the country. "Today, before the match, his grandmother passed away and now he is traveling to Colombia. It's a hard blow for him, but he was present and had a good performance," commented the Boca coach.
While the team from La Ribera celebrated a victory that allowed them to take the lead in the series, the goalkeeper quickly left La Bombonera and headed to Ezeiza to catch the flight to his country. The news of his loss came out after the match and, later, Montero posted a message dedicated to his grandmother: "You know I loved you, grandma".
His great performance against São Paulo and Arruabarrena's praise
On the field, Montero responded with a performance that reaffirmed his recovery under the three posts. When Boca had not yet opened the scoring, he deflected a header from Luciano over the crossbar that was heading for goal. In the second half, with Arruabarrena's team in the lead, he appeared again to stop a shot from Duarte and preserve the minimal difference.
