Chino Tapia explains why Boca is thriving and who should wear Argentina's number 10

When a world champion talks about Argentine soccer, it pays to listen closely. Carlos Daniel Tapia, nicknamed "Chino," part of the glorious Mexico 1986 generation, sat down with the ESPN F90 panel and broke down, without mincing words, Boca's current form and the future of the national team. He came out strong, going straight to the point he likes most: Boca's bench.

"Boca's moment is very good, and I want to emphasize that a lot of this has to do with the choice of coach, they got it right with Vasco Arruabarrena," Tapia said, making clear that for him this turnaround isn't a coincidence but a direct result of a front office decision. But he didn't stop there. What really catches his attention about the current Boca squad has less to do with tactics and more with the internal atmosphere: "the quiet and humility with which the locker room is being run right now," in his own words, is the key to the good run. And there he dropped a name: for Chino, the great on field leader of this moment is Leandro Paredes.

Argentina without Messi, a painful transition

The other big topic of the conversation was, inevitably, the Argentine national team. What happens the day Lionel Messi is no longer around? Tapia didn't dodge the question and was blunt: the captain's absence is going to create a costly transition, he admits without hesitation. But he also found some comfort, and it has a name: Lionel Scaloni. If the coach stays in charge, Tapia believes, that transition can be managed with the same order and calm the coaching staff has given the team all along.

And on who should inherit the iconic number 10 jersey, Chino didn't hesitate: "I think Alexis MacAllister should wear it, he's a player who really represents our soccer." A statement that sums up his way of thinking about the game well: he's not looking for the flashiest name, but the one who best embodies the style and commitment he lived as a player himself.

From Bilardo to Menotti, two schools and the same gratitude

Tapia also looked back on his own career, marked by having worn the jerseys of Argentina's two biggest clubs. A champion with River in '81 and also with Boca, Chino has no doubts about where he grew the most as a player: "with Boca I became a bigger player, I can only be grateful to soccer," he said.

On his time with the national team, caught between Bilardo and Menotti, Tapia shared one of those stories that only someone who lived through 1980s soccer firsthand could tell: "In 1986 I trained with Bilardo for the national team in the morning and with Menotti at Boca in the afternoon. In the morning they'd tell me, Tapia, if you don't run you won't play, and in the afternoon they'd tell me, team up with Rinaldi and play free, Chino. But here's the thing, neither one ever spoke badly of the other." Two opposite philosophies, the same mutual respect, and in between, a world champion grateful to have lived through both schools.

I dreamed of putting on the Argentina jersey, and then becoming world champion is the ultimate. On top of that the group was very close and very strong, and what remains is Carlos Bilardo's legacy: hard work above all else.Carlos Tapia