Miguel Ángel Russo has faith in Boca Juniors: "We have to do our part, we talk about it a lot."

Miguel Angel Russo doesn't lose his cool, answering each and every one of the questions posed by journalists in the conference room at Geodis Park in Nashville, where Boca Juniors' future in the Club World Cup will be decided this Tuesday the 24th at 4 p.m. He speaks in the same tone, with the same smile. He doesn't get angry, but he doesn't talk about what he doesn't want to. Like the Marcos Rojo issue: "Those things you guys say. I don't talk about them." Or the qualification chances, the match against Auckland City , already knowing that much depends on what happens between Bayern Munich and Benfica : "We have to do our thing, we're talking a lot about that."

It's not just a recent development; the 69-year-old coach knows how to manage the pace and calm his own and others' anxieties. Regarding the chance to thrash the New Zealand team, Miguelo explains: "The opponent is the opponent. This is their third game, they've improved. Benfica scored the first goal at the end of the first half, so this is football." Nor is there any comparison possible, like the 7-0 win over Bolívar, Boca's biggest win in international matches, which allowed them to qualify for the round of 16 of the 2007 Libertadores, where they were crowned champions. "I don't want to compare it to 2007; no game is the same as another. It will be a different atmosphere, one in which you're not used to playing in Argentine football."

He does, however, dedicate a few words to the weather: "We're coming from the Argentine winter, we're not used to it. It's all small things, but we have to compete and overcome these kinds of things; it's all within us. We have to improve, continue to mature, and be smarter." But beyond the temperature, the most important thing is the game, and he emphasizes: "We've talked the last two days about what's best for us. In terms of playing and having possession of the ball, breaking inside, outside, set pieces, we have to do a lot of things well, otherwise it will uncover a lot of problems. I trust my players, and we'll go for the best."

It's been confirmed that Russo will change the formation (it will be a 4-4-2 with Miguel Merentiel and Milton Giménez as the double nine) with respect to the first two matches of the group stage, and he explains it this way: "The change of formation goes beyond necessity. Benfica and Bayern are two different things, beyond all that. You look to play higher; sometimes you can and sometimes you can't. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will need a lot of individual talent."

The center-score issue is what bothers him the most this afternoon/evening in Nashville. “I'll talk when I feel it's the right time and nothing more. These are my situations. What matters is tomorrow's game. Everything's fine with Marcos Rojo, and I'm not going to talk about it anymore. I don't read or listen or have social media, so I don't know what they're saying or making up; I don't have time.” Fabrications? “Well, no, they're not making up things,” he clarifies.

The qualification chances and the regulations don't bother him either. That's why Russo states: "We want to stay in the Club World Cup," and then clarifies: "We'll be keeping an eye on everything, the other match, the results, fair play. We're already seeing red cards, it's in the regulations, playing against us, and it's not a good position."

Finally, the message to the fans, this Xeneize invasion of North American soil, couldn't be missed. "This is Boca, welcome. We have to feed the people in our own way; Boca fans have always been there and always will be."