Paredes came back from injury after 11 days and scored the goal that sends Boca to the Sudamericana final

Some comebacks make themselves known from the first minute, others explode right when the clock starts to squeeze. Leandro Paredes' was the second kind. Just 11 days after tearing a muscle against Instituto, the captain returned to the field with Boca and ended up scoring the goal that's worth a final.

At the Maracana Stadium, Boca beat Vasco da Gama 3-1 in the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana semifinals and booked their place in the final of "La Gran Conquista." The decisive goal came in the 88th minute, when Paredes unleashed a right-footed shot from outside the box that caught Léo Jardim off guard. The Brazilian goalkeeper couldn't handle the strike and the ball ended up in the net for the 3-1 that sealed the tie.

What stands out is that Paredes hadn't even started the match. Rodolfo Arruabarrena sent him on in the 57th minute for Rodrigo Battaglia, right when Boca needed to regain control of the ball in a tense stretch of the game. The midfielder had missed the first leg against Vasco and also sat out the match against Talleres de Cordoba, a result of the muscle tear suffered on October 9 in the draw against Instituto. Coming back in such a short time was already a risky bet. Ending up as the man of the match that sent Boca to the final was something else entirely.

The captain's words

As soon as the match ended, Paredes spoke to the broadcast and didn't hide his emotion over what he had just experienced.

It's hard to put into words what I feel, what I'm living. I only have words of gratitude for this incredible group of people who are giving everything to take this club where it deserves to be, and I think we're on the right path.Leandro Paredes

The midfielder also highlighted the level the team showed throughout the tie: "We put together a really good second leg, we'd had a good second half in the first leg, and I think today we played a perfect match from start to finish." He also didn't forget those who helped him through his express recovery, thanking the medical staff and his family, who "know everything I go through and what happened," a reference to the rumors that tend to circulate around these situations.

On the decision to start on the bench despite wanting to play from the first whistle, Paredes was clear: both he and Arruabarrena understood there was a big risk given how recent the injury was, and that the sensible thing was to wait on the bench. "We both knew it was a very big risk, a risk we were taking, it's been very few days since the injury, and it was best to start from the outside, and I think it worked out really well," he explained.

With this result, Boca already have a foot and a half in the Sudamericana final, with a performance that combined collective work over 90 minutes and the individual blow from a captain who, even without being at one hundred percent physically, showed up exactly when he was needed most.