Boca Faces Two Semifinals at Once, Dragging a Recent Streak That Raises Concern

December has arrived and Boca Juniors once again finds itself fighting on two fronts simultaneously. Between the CONMEBOL Sudamericana, where Vasco da Gama awaits, and the Copa Argentina, with Banfield on the other side, the Xeneize have two tickets to separate finals on the line. And as usually happens whenever Boca reaches the semifinal stage, it's worth looking back before getting too excited.

The opening number is striking: throughout its history, Boca has played in 56 semifinal ties, counting domestic leagues, national cups and international tournaments. The balance clearly favors the club, with 35 wins and 21 losses. Taken at face value, it's a record that backs up any fan's confidence. The problem is that this strongly positive stat has been a bit tarnished by what's happened in recent years, when semifinals haven't exactly smiled on Boca.

A Recent Streak Weighing Heavy

Just a quick look at the recent past explains the concern. The freshest loss came in the 2025 Torneo Clausura, a 1-0 defeat at La Bombonera thanks to a goal from Maravilla Martinez. Before that, there was a thriller against Velez in the 2024 Copa Argentina that ended 4-3 in the final minutes, the kind of game that stings because of how those closing moments played out. That same year, in the Copa de la Liga, the matchup with Estudiantes in Cordoba finished 1-1 after 90 minutes, and Boca was sent home in the penalty shootout, 3-1.

Estudiantes, in fact, keeps popping up as a recurring recent executioner: back in the 2023 Copa Argentina, they had already knocked Boca out 3-2, after the Xeneize briefly turned the tie around without being able to hold on.

Not everything was bad luck, of course. In the 2023 CONMEBOL Libertadores, Boca had one of its most memorable semifinals: a 0-0 draw at home, a 1-1 away in Brazil, and the trip to the final sealed against Palmeiras 4-2 on penalties, a shootout that remains fresh in fans' memories.

Penalties, Penalties and More Penalties

If there's a pattern in Boca's semifinals over the last several years, it's that almost everything ends up being decided from the spot. In 2022, Patronato pulled off the upset in the Copa Argentina, winning 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation. But that same year, Boca got revenge over Racing in the Copa de la Liga, with a 0-0 draw decided 6-5 in their favor in the shootout.

A year earlier, in 2021, it was Racing again, that knocked them out of the Copa de la Liga, also after a 0-0 draw, this time with Boca falling 4-2 on penalties. And further back, in 2020, Boca eliminated Argentinos 1-0 in the Copa Argentina, a tournament they would later lose in the final to Talleres, and fell along the way to Santos in that year's Libertadores.

With that mix of favorable history but a demanding present, Boca enters this new round of semifinals under pressure to break the streak. Vasco da Gama and Banfield are the most immediate test of whether the Xeneize can feel comfortable again at a stage that, for years, was almost a trademark of the club's identity.