Zambrano after the unattainable memory of Meléndez in Boca: what do Argentine journalists think about both?

Curiously, a few decades ago, when soccer was still seen in black and white, another Peruvian put his name in a special chapter of that eternal rivalry between ‘Xeneizes’ and ‘Millionaires’. His name is Julio Guillermo Meléndez Calderón, a defender ahead of his time, a ’10’ in HD playing central defense.

Born in Lima (1941), he played for Boca Juniors between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s. Champion three times. But with a well-remembered passage in a superclassic played at the Monumental in which he was expelled for pulling a rival’s shirt and in which all the opposing fans applauded him. “That was a glorious moment for me because it showed me that not only the people from Boca loved me, but from other teams”, he said in an interview with El Comercio.

, tells us from Argentina, Daniel Campos, an Argentine journalist who has covered ‘Xeneize’ for many years and has seen the Peruvian play. , points out Juan Presta, a press man with extensive experience in the Argentine country and who had the privilege of be the hands of Diego Armando Maradona in Mexico 86.

In a club as huge as Boca Juniors, which has an old war cry that says: “And hit, and hit, and hit Boca hit!”Don Julio became one of the greatest idols. In a team associated with having rustic, rude center backs, the Peruvian showed them his ballet with a game ball. “And that is a lot because we agree that it is a club that has such a great history, such a winner, and we are talking about a player who was not around for long. However, according to all the people who saw him, he was an extraordinary player”says Leandro Cordobez, author of the book “Boca Juniors 1969, everyone’s team”.

To write his book, Leandro spoke with many soccer players who played alongside Meléndez. And everyone was full of praise. “Rubén Sánchez, goalkeeper for that team, once told me: Julio didn’t hit, he didn’t have a left foot, he didn’t head and his knee was a bit battered. Even so, he had plenty of playing football”. That team, the one from 1969 that won the National Championship and the Argentine Cup, had Alfredo di Stéfano in the attack. “It was a very offensive team, with full-backs that went up a lot in attack, with two central midfielders who were also attacking and their defensive partner, Roberto Rogel, also did the same. So, Meléndez often banked alone against two or three rivals. And still he was victorious”.

“Meléndez left a mark on Boca Juniors. The speed he had was impressive. He took the ball without needing to. He was a gentleman. And he has a great virtue: Boca’s central defenders were always rude and he became almost an idol -for many he is- without being one.”adds Campos, who puts the Peruvian next to Vicente Pernia, Silvio Marzolini and the brazilian Orlando Pecanha de Carvalho as the best central defense in the history of the club.

There’s a story told Jorge Coch, partner of don Julio, which shows the quality of the Peruvian. In training, the players organized races from end to end of the field. Whoever lost had to pay for a meal for everyone. And what Meléndez did was give his teammates the advantage of all the space in the area and even so he was the first to reach the goal.

That is Julio Meléndez Calderón, a center back from another era who marked history, not only in Boca, but also in Argentine football. A defender who was even idolized by Diego Armando Maradona, the idol of millions, once said the ‘Fluff’. Don Julio was not the first to arrive in the neighborhood of La Boca with the Peruvian flag, nor was he the last, but he did pave the way for the arrival of others, like those who are now: Carlos Zambrano and Luis Advíncula.

Zambrano and his steps in Boca Juniors

“Being in Boca is the most beautiful thing that could happen to me in my football career”he claimed Carlos Zambrano in the middle of the celebrations for a new title. The center-back arrived at the institution in April 2020 and since then he has added five trophies (four leagues and one Argentine Cup). He was involved in controversy, he was harshly criticized by the fans, but he knew how to win respect in recent months with his good performances.

“One of the problems is that he is a player hired by the new leadership. Boca is a club that currently has a big internal political dispute between the leadership that left and the current one. Half the players who brought one and the other twirl. And Zambrano was a player who brought the Council of Riquelme and is often criticized for that. But lately he has raised his performance”, explains Leandro Cordobez.

Carlos, a low-profile player before the press, is not looking to be Meléndez. He doesn’t have to either. Although Don Julio himself once said that “Carlos is better than me”. But the ‘Kaiser’ does want to leave a mark on one of the biggest clubs on the continent. Although the figure of Don Julio is still there.

“It will be easy for no center-back who reaches Boca to catch up with him,” says Dordobez. “Zambrano seems to me to be a normal player who has not performed according to expectations in Boca, I don’t know if there were many”, indicates Daniel Campos. , adds Juan Presta.

Carlos Zambrano possibly continue in Boca Juniors next year. And he may close this 2022 with a new title (this Wednesday, Hugo Ibarra’s men will face Patronato for the semifinals of the Argentine Cup), which would make him the second Peruvian with the most trophies with the ‘Xeneize’ along with the ‘Chino Jose Perez. The ‘Kaiser’ wants to leave a mark in the neighborhood of La Boca.

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