Riquelme is running out of his silver bullets

One less silver bullet. Boca 's idol president, Juan Román Riquelme , for the first time in his life heard a group of fans calling for him to "go to hell." It was when the team now managed by Mariano Herrón was stumbling on the field against a lukewarm Lanús .

Román, who threw his championship belt out of the ring to take charge of the club he loved, now receives the ungrateful punishment of a section of the Bombonera that, for the first time, is allowing itself to question him. And the rift remains, because after the penalty shootout victory following a meager 0-0 draw in the 90th minute, from the second tier, where La 12 is located, the insults are directed at "the audience."

The bullet went in, it's obvious. It doesn't seem like a coincidence that the brutal attack on the club's biggest idol and top official suffered this week. They called him an "ignorant black man" and characterized his management as "poor." And the hate speech took its toll on season ticket holders, who are fed up with seeing a team that at times seems to be sabotaging itself. It's true that Riquelme and his Football Council will have to respond to the club's members and fans, who are losing patience and this Saturday threatened a "puebla": what would have happened if they had lost on penalties, as happened against Alianza Lima? Qualifying for the quarterfinals calmed the waters a bit, and there was celebration in the end. But the hysteria and anger have already set in.

Riquelme has a lot at stake in the next round, and the opponent—one suspects—will be much more demanding. It's true that Román is no longer playing, but it's also true that he chose Carlos Palacios and Alan Velasco, and for now, the Chilean and the former Independiente player—the $10 million reinforcement—only inspire impatience. The same is true of the choice of coaches (there are now seven since he took over) and the untimely dismissal of Fernando Gago. It's an example of how to dismantle a project with a team that was leading, regardless of whether the final decision was correct or not, because Gago was doomed from the elimination in the second round of the playoffs for trying to qualify for the Copa Libertadores. Almost nothing remains of the Boca Juniors team that had racked up victories and secured its place at the top of Group A until the Superclásico defeat to a lackluster River Plate side.

"LET THEM ALL GO" PLAYS IN THE BOMBONERA.

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Riquelme is capable of making decisions, and he doesn't flinch when it comes to executing them. The fact is, he seems to be accumulating more mistakes than successes lately, and with the results not going his way, it was only a matter of time before the bullet hit him. Nothing will erase his exploits as a footballer, but history as a president is being written. And now that he's injured, he'll have to rethink how to win people over again. Román, raised in the San Jorge village of Don Torcuato and with no academic training, occupies a position of great power, and that's annoying, but at the same time: who better to head the Football Council? The problem is that he's running out of his silver bullets.