The former player and coach of Xeneize questioned the current institutional and sporting situation, commented on Juan Román Riquelme's management, and stated that the club should follow River's example
Regarding the management of Juan Román Riquelme, with whom he shared a locker room at Boca and Villarreal, he was direct: "You can talk football with Román, he knows a lot about football. Now, being president... you have to make room for qualified people. I don't know what skills he might have."
Amid the worst streak in Boca's history, Rodolfo Vasco Arruabarrena shared his perspective on the club's football and institutional reality. A multi-champion as both a player and coach, and someone who knows the day-to-day life at Xeneize like few others, he suggested that the resurgence should begin with greater involvement from the youth divisions.
"There's an institutional issue and a sporting issue here. What matters to me is that the club is doing well, and in terms of sports, things will improve. Otherwise, they'll have to bring up eight or nine kids from the youth divisions, which I've been told are available," he stated in a conversation with 805 Stream.
In this regard, Vasco recalled his time as Xeneize's coach between 2014 and 2016, when he promoted young players such as Andrés Cubas, Rodrigo Bentancur, Sebastián Palacios, and Juan Cruz Komar. "When things aren't going well, Boca fans want to see new faces. I remember when I took over, nobody told me anything, but we went looking because we knew there were, in the 96 and 97 age groups, kids who were ready. All of them built careers, some better, some worse."
He also highlighted the difference with other clubs. "I see Vélez, I see River, and there are 16 or 17-year-old kids already playing in the reserves and even in the first team. Both Guillermo (Barros Schelotto) and Marcelo (Gallardo) bring them in or have them train. Here, that's not the case. However, it could be an issue with Miguel (Russo) or an institutional matter," he pointed out, praising the working model of his classic rival.
He also issued a warning: "There's politics at Boca. The press talks every day, whether things are going well or badly. If the players and directors don't have the personality and ability to handle that and focus only on the positive, it can create a significant internal mess."
Arruabarrena also addressed the role of the manager, a position recently added to the club: "It's difficult here in Argentina. The manager needs to have a relationship with the coach and decide which signings come in. Here, presidents want to make the decisions themselves. Boca needs to have 20 or 25 scouts. It needs to have people abroad and here in the country."
Vasco knows what he's talking about: he came up through Boca's youth divisions, debuted in the first team in 1993, and as a player won the Apertura 1998, Clausura 1999, and the 2000 Copa Libertadores. During his time as coach, from August 2014 to March 2016, he won the 2015 Championship and the Copa Argentina that same year.
