The Argentine helmsman’s health has worsened in recent weeks, preventing him from sitting on the blue and gold bench since September 21.
His body will be laid to rest on Thursday and Friday morning in the hall of La Bombonera, Boca’s emblematic stadium, the team reported.
“Miguel leaves an indelible mark on our institution and will always be an example of joy, warmth and effort (…) See you always, dear Miguel!” said Xeneize on social networks.
The popular Buenos Aires club never detailed his health, although it was known that he had a urinary infection and it was known that in 2017 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
On Monday he reported that he was confined at home with a “reserved prognosis.”
In his recent public appearances, which alternated with hospital or home stays, he looked thin, walked with difficulty, and his voice sounded weak.
In his absence, the group was directed by his assistant, Claudio Úbeda.
“You could see it coming, but it’s still sad,” Ignacio Perotti, a 40-year-old Boca fan, told AFP. “He is the last great coach we had, he is among the greats.”
Mourning in South America
Several Argentine and South American football institutions mourned the death, including River Plate, a historic rival from Boca, which highlighted his “outstanding career in football as a player and coach.”
Concentrated in the United States for the friendlies in October, Lionel Messi’s Argentine team paid a minute of silence in his honor before starting training this Wednesday.
The Argentine league postponed the match between Barracas Central and Boca, scheduled for Saturday for date 12 of the Clausura, to a date to be determined.
In addition, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) reported in a statement that there will be a minute of silence before the start of all matches in all Categories and Divisions, until next October 12.
A man of few words and direct phrases, Russo was a technician for more than half of his life.
He accumulated 36 seasons on the bench, in a career that had its most transcendent cycles in Boca, Rosario Central and Estudiantes, and that even had him close to commanding the Albiceleste.
The first half of his life was marked by his history in Estudiantes, a club in which he played his entire career as a footballer (1975-1988) and with which he celebrated two titles, the 1982 Metropolitan championship and the 1983 National tournament.
The La Plata club honored him on its social networks as a “prodigal son and football glory” of the institution.
Another Pincha idol, the legendary coach Carlos Bilardo, made him debut in the first division, in which he formed one of the most remembered midfields in Argentine football along with Alejandro Sabella, Marcelo Trobbiani and José Daniel “Bocha” Ponce.
His performances led him to the national team, but Bilardo did not summon him to the 1986 World Cup, won by Diego Maradona’s Albiceleste.
After his retirement, he began a career as a coach that led him to direct more than a thousand games in Argentina, Chile, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay and Saudi Arabia.
Versatile trainer
Although he does not leave an extensive track record, it is marked by very symbolic achievements.
After being promoted twice with Lanús, in 1994 he took command of his beloved Estudiantes, which a year later he returned to the top category with a squad in which Juan Sebastián Verón and Martín Palermo emerged.
He won his first title in the first division with Vélez Sarsfield in 2005. Later, at the request of Maradona, he was summoned to lead Boca, which he led to win the 2007 Copa Libertadores, his greatest achievement as a coach.
In Colombia, in 2017, he won Millonarios champion one day after undergoing a chemotherapy session to treat cancer.
He sealed an eternal love affair with Rosario Central by winning the League Cup in December 2023, his last title with Canalla, which he twice saved from relegation.
Throughout his career, Russo showed himself to be a versatile coach, who preferred balanced and orderly teams, with an enormous ability to adapt depending on the resources at his disposal.
His last adventure came in June, when he accepted Juan Román Riquelme’s proposal to lead a third cycle in Boca.
He had a difficult start due to elimination in the Club World Cup and a weak start in the Clausura, which he had begun to straighten out when the signs of deterioration became evident and he could no longer continue.
