Arruabarrena and Boca's rivalry games: cruising past Independiente, struggling with Racing

A draw in Avellaneda and a win at the Nuevo Gasómetro. Those were the first two results of Rodolfo Arruabarrena's second stint in charge of Boca when it comes to rivalry games, and they already say plenty about where the Vasco's unfinished business lies: Argentine soccer's big clubs are still proving costly for him.

On August 23, 2026, came the first real test of this new era: a Boca-Racing clash that ended 1-1 at El Cilindro. Nearly a month later, on September 20, Arruabarrena finally got something he hadn't managed yet in this second run: a win. It came by a score of 2-0 against San Lorenzo at the Nuevo Gasómetro, snapping a rough patch that had been weighing on his tenure.

The numbers don't lie

Adding up everything he's coached at Boca against the other four big clubs (River, Independiente, Racing and San Lorenzo), Arruabarrena's record stands at 17 games, with 4 wins, 5 draws and 8 losses. It's an average that raises more questions than it answers, especially given how uneven the split is across opponents.

Against River, the rivalry of rivalries, the Vasco has now coached 7 Superclásicos: 2 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses, good for a 43 percent win rate. Not a spectacular number, but far from the most troubling mark in his recent record.

That distinction clearly belongs to Racing. In 4 meetings, Arruabarrena still hasn't managed a win: 3 losses and 1 draw, just an 8 percent win rate. By far, this is the opponent that has given him the most trouble in this cycle, and the August draw at El Cilindro, far from a bad result, ended up feeling almost like a relief given that grim history.

With Independiente, the story flips entirely: just 2 games, but 1 win and 1 draw, giving him a 66 percent win rate, his best mark against any of the big clubs.

San Lorenzo, meanwhile, had been another sore spot until recently. In 4 meetings he had lost 3 and won just 1, for a 25 percent win rate. That lone win came precisely in the 2026 Clausura, with the 2-0 result at the Nuevo Gasómetro, a result that at least got him off the mark against the Ciclón in this stint.

The overall picture sends a pretty clear message: against Independiente, Arruabarrena performs well; against River, he holds his own; but against Racing and San Lorenzo, the history still weighs on him. With more than half of his games against the big clubs ending in defeat, the lingering question is whether this new stint will be enough to reverse a trend that has followed him since his very first spell at the club.