Paredes steps up to keep Xeneize dreams alive

Leo Paredes dreamed about nights like this when choosing to turn his back on Europe in favour of returning to where it all began at La Bombonera.

The biggest moments in football call for big personalities. And with just a few minutes remaining in Tuesday night’s crunch Copa Sudamericana semi, Leandro Paredes saw his opportunity.

The Boca Juniors midfield ace saw a glimmer of an opening when he received the ball on the edge of the Vasco area. He did not hesitate. Releasing a wickedly dipping shot, Paredes watched in glee as the ball just managed to elude the grasp of Léo Jardim and nestled in the net. The Maracanã was silenced aside from the sizeable Xeneize contingent present in the stands, as Boca capped a remarkable comeback victory that send them through to the Sudamericana final and keeps alive their hopes for a memorable 2026.

They certainly made it hard for themselves. Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s men went to Rio fighting to overcome a one-goal deficit from the first leg and almost immediately cancelled that strike out by way of Luciano Di Lollo’s header from a Lautaro Blanco corner. On the half-hour they took the lead, Miguel Merentiel streaking through on the counter and finishing with his customary class. In the second half the ghosts of continental failure past raised their head when Vasco de Gama pulled one back, threatening to send the game to penalties. But there was to be no nerve-wracking shoot-out for Boca thanks to their favourite son, who dreamed about nights like this when choosing to turn his back on Europe in favour of returning to where it all began at La Bombonera.

“These guys are all heroes, it is the entire team because they are doing an incredible job,” Paredes beamed to reporters after the final whistle, which came complete with a few scuffles with Vasco players following a tense two-legged showdown. “They are giving their very all, as much as we can and more. We always face up to the challenge. This team wants to do big things.”

Boca are on the verge of doing just that. In this column a few weeks ago, we mentioned that the tailend of 2026 promised to be epic for the Xeneize as they fight on multiple fronts. For now, all of those fronts remain open, but it has not been an easy ride. Boca had to turn around a two-goal disadvantage against Racing in heroic circumstances to book their place in the Copa Argentina semis.

Active in both the Sudamericana and the local competition, that has taken its toll too on some of their league performance, with coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena having to rotate his ranks to keep legs fresh. But even there, they remain competitive. With three games left of the Clausura regular season the team sits in second place in Group A and can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Independiente this weekend. On top of that, Boca also currently sit at the head of the league’s annual table, a distinction that as we learned last year with Rosario Central brings with it an additional chance for silverware at the end of the year.

The big games are not letting up. After Independiente Boca get a much-needed few days of rest before hosting River at the Bombonera. Towards the middle of November the Liga Profesional Clausura playoffs will kick off and then there is the little matter of the Sudamericana final itself on November 21, where Boca and thousands of supporters will decamp to sweltering Barranquilla to take on Atlético Mineiro in a mouth-watering decider. 

Paredes is up to the task, fit and back in form, and after a roller-coaster year for the midfielder he needs just one last effort to keep this young, dynamic Boca team on track and in the hunt for glory a little while longer.