Boca Juniors 2023: Why the Argentine giants have slumped to mid-table mediocrity – scout report

Over the years, the format of Argentinas top-flight football has experienced numerous changes, with those in charge constantly trying to switch things up in a bid to boost the reputation and financial benefits of the Primera División. While the division itself has lacked consistency in that sense, there has been a regularity in terms of successful teams. River Plate are the leaders when it comes to the number of league titles, with 37 to their name — Boca Juniors are a close second after the club claimed their 35^th title in the 2022 season. However, despite their continued success since the leagues formation, Boca are this season going through a rough patch, with Xeneize currently sitting 11^th in the table as the seasons climax draws close.

This scout report will provide a tactical analysis of Boca Juniors, aiming to pinpoint the main reasons behind their failure this season and whether or not it is strongly related to their tactics. The analysis will focus on their attacking performance throughout the season, even though they went through a change in manager back in March — Hugo Ibarra was relieved of his duties and replaced by current boss Jorge Almirón, who most recently managed Elche in Spains LaLiga before taking this role. We have highlighted the attacking side of their game for analysis, as the data suggests they are below par in this area. We will also include some bright spots from their 2023 league data — stats highlighting positive areas for Boca that they could use more often in their general play.

Season overview to date

As mentioned, Boca sit in 11^th place at the time of writing, a far cry from their triumph in the previous season. Their record paints the picture of a team who have failed to find a consistent form — nine wins from 23, with as many defeats. While their defensive record isnt a huge problem (22 goals conceded), their goal tally of 25 is part of why they find themselves in this mess.

We touched on the change in manager earlier in the season — Ibarra took charge of eight games this season, pickup up just 11 points, leading the clubs hierarchy to take action. Since Almiróns arrival, they have picked up nine wins from 18, losing six. While there was some improvement in results, inconsistency was still an issue, as was their fortune in front of goal. 4-3-3 has been their primary formation for the whole season, with the occasional use of a range of similar shapes.

Lack of attacking firepower

After 23 league games thus far, Boca have had nine games where they failed to score — far too many missed opportunities for extra points. While there are other teams with worse attacking records than Boca, they should not be satisfied with simply being better with some of the teams around them in the middle of the table. Their defensive record is more than satisfactory and is, in fact, better than some of the teams at the upper end of the table, so it is only fair to say their attacking output is letting them down.

Regarding playing style & tactics, Boca are a possession-based team and show quality in the early phases of build-up/possession. Their reliability in these stages is undeniable — they rank 3rd best in the league for ball losses per 90, and they have the best pass accuracy in the division with 85.3%. They also rank third for highest average possession. Those numbers make it clear that they are strong on the ball in general. Still, I know what youre thinking; those stats, in particular, dont shed any light on how efficient they are at progressing the ball into attacking areas. Still, they have so far recorded the second-highest accuracy with passes into the final third (74%). This only adds evidence to the notion that their struggles lie in the final third, so lets look at their performance in front of goal.