After the victory against São Paulo, the Boca goalkeeper headed to his home country due to the passing of his grandmother
The Colombian's performance is even more significant given the journey he has gone through since arriving at the club. After a start with some doubts and questions, the former Vélez goalkeeper gained confidence to become an important piece of the team. His performance against São Paulo added to the one he had against Vélez in the Copa Argentina, when he was decisive in the penalty shootout after saving two shots.
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".
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.
In this context, Arruabarrena highlighted that process and avoided attributing the goalkeeper's improvement to any specific work. "We didn't work on anything particular with him, we just talked with the intention of giving him enough time to adapt to the Boca World," explained the coach, who also stated: "Many times adaptation takes its time".
The coach also defended Montero against the criticism he had received during his early matches. "Still, when they criticized him, they didn't have much reason. He knows what I think. He needs to stay calm" he asserted.
After the narrow victory at La Bombonera, the blue and gold team will host Central Córdoba this Friday, September 11 at 21:30 (Argentina time) for the 9th round of the Clausura Tournament. Once this test is passed, Arruabarrena's team will focus all their attention on the return match of the Copa Sudamericana quarter-finals against São Paulo at the Estadio Morumbí, scheduled for next Tuesday, September 15 at the same time.
