Miguel Angel Russo: Obituary –

Four months before leading Boca Juniors to the club’s last Copa Libertadores crown, Angel Miguel Russo sat alone at a bar in Buenos Aires. Jonathan Wilson, one of the most talented football writers of our time, had happened to visit the bar that evening. Recently, Wilson shared the story of walking up and having an impromptu conversation about football. Wilson movingly paints a picture of how Buenos Aires has retained in its culture a space that indulges football romanticism, that does not want to miss a single opportunity to sit in a bar and talk about football.

Wilson came from a society that was also football-obsessed, but one that actively discourages such spontaneous involvement as a high-profile football manager. Russo’s team had a match to play the next day. As Wilson notes, it would be unthinkable that the manager of one of England’s biggest clubs would engage in such a conversation. But that came naturally to Ruso. And there is one simple justification for such behavior, a justification so ridiculously simple that it almost sounds like a cliché. It happened because Ruso loved what he did. He loved football.

Fans love tactical masterminds and technical perfectionists, but deep down, all we want from our heroes is our love for the game. A feeling so simple yet profound. In the age of hyper-focused professionalism that values ​​effectiveness over belonging, Russo can seem like an aberration. The last time his presence in the dugout was televised to a global audience, his Boca Juniors were competing in the newly inflated version of the Club World Cup – an unashamed inconvenience that FIFA’s greed has imposed on the over-saturated club football calendar.

It feels fitting that in a tournament widely criticized for its lack of organic atmosphere and warmth, matches with Russo’s Boca stood out thanks to an outpouring of passion from the traveling fanbase. Russo’s team played an ineffective brand of football, which was neither beautiful nor successful. In so many ways, it all felt like a poignant reminder that a love of the game is a beautifully irrational phenomenon that hardly needs any justification rooted in aesthetics or pride.

As a player, Russo won the admiration of football romantics as a one-club man who served Estudiantes with great distinction at the base of midfield for thirteen years. Although he featured quite regularly in the national team in the years leading up to the 1986 World Cup, Argentine manager Carlos Bilardo, under whose guidance Russo began his senior career with Estudiantes, left him out of his World Cup squad. Russo never played for his country again. Like the protagonist in a memorable love story, his story feels all the more poignant because it pushes our minds to wander into the realms of what could have been.

Russo’s appeal to the game’s enthusiasts is enhanced by his track record of bringing back glory days to the game’s sleeping giants. He caught the attention of the top ranks with his fantastic work in the second division in the early 1990s. He had won two promotions with Lanus before taking charge of the club he had played for and helping them gain promotion. He was then hired by Chilean club Universidad De Chile and took his side to the last four of the Copa Libertadores.

Russo’s first top-flight title came with Velez Sarsfield during the Clausura phase in 2005. His next job was his first spell as manager at Boca. Russo’s Boca, with Riquelme at the height of his powers, played a dynamic and attacking brand of football on their way to claiming the Copa Libertadores trophy in 2007. Boca defeated Brazilian side Gremio 5-0 in a two-legged final to claim the title in style. No other team has ever won the Libertadores final by such a large margin. While Russo’s side finished second in the league and were beaten by Carlo Ancelotti’s AC Milan in the 2007 Club World Cup final, his era is fondly remembered by a fanbase that is hard to please.

In Russo’s next job, he led San Lorenzo to third place in the league. He added another promotion to his CV after winning the Second Division title for Rosario Central in 2013. In the national cup competition, Copa Argentina, Rosaria Central was defeated in the final by Huracán in the shootouts after a goalless match. Heartbreak was always part of Russo’s story.

Russo battled cancer for the last eight years of his life. He managed Colombian side Millonarios, where his side won the top-flight title by winning a thrilling two-legged play-off final 3-2 against arch-rivals Independiente Santa Fe. Hours before the decisive second leg of the final, he underwent his first chemotherapy session. He still led his team from the sidelines during the game, summing up what he would later famously say in an interview: “Everything is healed by love.”

Another classic love story plot element – ​​recurring – had been a theme throughout Russo’s management career. He had multiple stints at a number of clubs. In his second spell at Boca he won the national league. He also had a seven-month spell at Al-Nassr, but appropriately enough that was just before Saudi Arabia, sports washers par excellence, had invested heavily in the club. He had returned to Boca for the third time. As a poetic parting gift, he left the sidelines for the last time, days before his death, with Boca claiming the top spot in the zonal rankings.

Russo had been quite successful, both as a player and as a manager. But he was even better at winning affection. Boca can replace him with a better or more successful manager, but it will be very difficult to replace the sense of attachment and passion that he carried with him until the end. Peace in football, Miguel Angel Russo.

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