The Mark of The Wolf – Ricardo La Volpe

By: Bob | October 9th, 2006

The Superclasico didn’t turn out to be either super or classic for Boca Juniors this weekend as they lost 3-1 to River Plate. New boss Ricardo La Volpe is bound to take some heat for the loss. Our guest contributor Christian Denes was at the Boca Juniors-Velez match last week and offers up an interesting perspective on La Volpe

Somewhere between cojones and loco, you’ll find Boca Juniors’ new coach Ricardo La Volpe. On Sunday afternoon at the Boca Juniors stadium, I watched La Volpe walk across the field at the end of the first half under a flurry of whistling and insults. It was deafeningly loud – a chorus of foul language regarding his mother’s privates. He glared back at the crowd and descended the stairs toward the locker room. Boca was losing 2-0, one man down, against historically strong Vélez Sársfield. They had played terribly during the first half, with La Volpe intermittently shaking his head, and then wildly waving his arms and yelling. I figured his days were up with Boca, after less than a month as coach.

Despite winning the 1978 World Cup with Argentina as their back-up goalie, La Volpe was never a figure of Argentine soccer discussion. In fact, he made his name in the world of Mexican soccer as the coach of several first division teams (winning a championship with Atlante in ’92) and as coach of the Mexican national team at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. While he is respected as a meticulous tactician and for his ability to shape young players, he is best known for his feuds with the press (including statements like “Get out of my face!” and “Don’t bust my balls you f**king idiots”), spats with his own players, and chain-smoking behind the bench. After fighting hard, but ultimately coming up short in the second round against Argentina with the Mexican national team in Germany, La Volpe took on the job of coaching Boca Juniors.

The Boca Juniors fan handbook on coaches is fairly straightforward: 1) If you’re not Carlos Bianchi, we don’t like you, leave! 2) If you win, you get to stay for a while, and maybe we’ll like you, and 3) If you win everything, all the time, we might even accept you as one of us. Two coaches came and went – very quickly – after fan favorite Bianchi won eight titles between 1998 and 2003*, and Alfio “Coco” Basile, the third, had seemed to be on the same path. Even his relaxed coaching style and reputation for all-night whiskey and cigarette binges couldn’t win over the fans. It wasn’t until “Coco” had won his fourth consecutive title with Boca that he started to make his mark on Boca history. And then, in the middle of the season, just as he was starting to sway the fans his way, “Coco” was picked to coach the Argentine national team. He was allowed to coach (and win) one last international tournament with Boca – making it a perfect five for five record for “Coco”** – and then he was gone. That’s when La Volpe took over.

Contrary to the reputation that preceded him, La Volpe kept silent for his first game as Boca’s coach. He probably understood that this was Coco’s day: a day of celebration complete with a victory lap around the field, a thank you, and a goodbye. Unfortunately, the celebration came to a grinding halt when the game ended in a scoreless draw, breaking Boca’s 12-game winning streak one shy of tying the all-time Argentine record. But the crowd, still delirious from the festivities, was forgiving and let the tie slide. They would give La Volpe a chance. That’s when the La Volpe we know came out growling: taking on the press, imposing his new 4-4-2-formation and implementing tough practices. Looming three weeks away was the real test, the Superclasico against archenemy River Plate. And standing in between was this horrifying home game I was witnessing against Vélez Sársfield.

During halftime, with my head in my hands, surrounded by feelings of hatred and resentment toward La Volpe, I started to feel a little sorry for the guy. If Boca didn’t maintain first place this season, it would be entirely his fault. After all, he was handed a gift-wrapped championship team with a championship attitude and style, and he had decided to mess with it. And if they did finish first, it would all be thanks to “Coco” and the players anyway, despite La Volpe. As the players came back onto the field for the second half, the conversation around me concurred that he wouldn’t make it past the Superclasico against River Plate next week. The renewed whistling signaled La Volpe’s return to the field, and as I watched him march toward the bench, head up, eyes still glaring at the crowd, it dawned on me that he must be completely insane. Who in their right mind would walk into a situation where the only outcomes are being hated by the most deranged fans in Argentina or being denied any credit you deserve?

In the 24th minute of the second half, Boca scored their first goal of the day on a cross shot by Gago, making it 2-1, and the stadium started shaking. The game was tied in the 30th with a spectacular defensive recovery by Morel and a long, over the shoulder pass that was corralled by Palacio and knocked in for the goal. And in the 43rd minute, when Boca scored a beautiful 3rd goal to take the lead, not a single thought or glance was focused on La Volpe. Any insults from the crowd were now being directed toward upcoming rival River Plate and their mother’s privates. But even as the final minutes ticked away, and as the whole stadium jumped and chanted in unison at this improbable turnaround, La Volpe’s expression hadn’t changed from when Boca was down 2-0. He still glared, wildly waving his arms and yelling at the players. He was still unsatisfied with the team’s formation. They still weren’t playing his style. Win or lose, La Volpe hadn’t yet made his mark. There is no doubt he has the strong-headedness and patience to do it. The question is, will he have the time?

*The God-like Carlos Bianchi: Between 1998 and 2001, and then 2003-2004, he won four national tournaments, three Copa Libertadores (the South American equivalent of the UEFA Champions League) and two Intercontinental Cups (beating Real Madrid and Milan in the yearly face-off between the winner of the Copa Libertadores and the UEFA Champions League).

** The next-to-God-like Alfio Basile: Over 15 months, between July 2005 and September 2006 he won two national tournaments, the Copa Sudamericana (the South American equivalent of the UEFA Cup), and two Recopa Sudamericanas (the South American equivalent to UEFA’s European Super Cup).