Fernando Gago and Nicolás Figal Become Meme Targets Following Boca's Elimination Against Vélez in the Argentine Cup

In the closing moments of the match, Boca Juniors saw their hopes of reaching the Argentine Cup final slip away. Vélez Sarsfield turned the game around with a 4-3 victory in Córdoba and will now face Central Córdoba from Santiago del Estero for the title. Following this defeat, defender Nicolás Figal, who scored an own goal, and manager Fernando Gago were subjected to memes and ridicule on the social media platform X.

The critical incident occurred 19 minutes into the first half when Vélez midfielder Claudio Aquino played a through ball to Matías Pellegrini. Pellegrini, racing past Boca defender Luis Advíncula, delivered a low cross into the six-yard box. Figal, in an attempt to clear with the outside of his right boot, accidentally scored a spectacular own goal, letting the ball past his teammate, goalkeeper Leandro Brey.

This own goal, which put Vélez 2-0 ahead, set off a wave of memes targeting Boca’s central defender. Advíncula also faced criticism after being shown a red card just two minutes into the second half, leaving Boca with ten players.
Both defenders had a night to forget, and social media users did not hold back in their mockery.

Gago also faced harsh criticism on X, with fans questioning his decision to substitute Edinson Cavani and Changuito Zeballos instead of introducing center-back Di Lollo and midfielder Milton Delgado to "secure the match," as Gago explained during the post-match press conference. At that time, Boca was leading 3-2 and had only ten men on the field.

“We made many mistakes, and that can't happen, which frustrates me greatly. Despite being a man down, the team showed courage and drive to secure a result. We took the lead, and at that point, I wanted to close the match and manage the situation with ten men. Unfortunately, we leave with a result that hurts and knocks us out of the chance to reach the final,” Gago analyzed after the elimination.

Additionally, River Plate supporters joined in the mockery, referencing a past comparison made by sports journalist Federico 'Negro' Bulos, who likened Gago to Marcelo Gallardo when Gago first took over at Boca.