It wouldn’t be Argentinian football without some brutality, and Ander Herrera learned that straight away on his Boca Juniors debut.
After a difficult 2024 in which they finished sixth in the Argentine Primera División, the sporting giants were back at it in their first game of the New Year with a new face in tow.
Taking on Argentino Monte Maíz in the Copa Argentina, Boca were 2-0 up in the first half and looking good before Herrera made them even better in a 5-0 win.
Before that, though, he was taken out by an opponent right at the start of the second half with the easiest of yellow cards awarded for a moment of cynicism.
Herrera, newly arrived from Athletic Bilbao, didn’t mind, and continued to dictate the play among three other new arrivals in the transfer market.
Such was his performance that expectations are already through the roof under head coach Fernando Gago.
Leading Argentine outlet La Nacion told fans to ‘start believing’ and that the game ‘renewed their hope’.
They added: “The team led by Fernando Gago is going for everything: the Argentine Cup, the Apertura tournament, the Copa Libertadores and the Club World Cup.
“They had two scoring streaks: at the end of each stage. They scored two in the first half and another three, at the end of the show.” There were no equals against a team from the Federal A. “
And on their new star, they finished: “Ander Herrera made his presentation to the fans, a leader with a commanding voice in the centre of midfield.”
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