He was the second youngest player to debut in Boca’s Primera. He participated in World Cups, Copa América and qualifiers, in addition to the Under 15 and Under 17 South American Championships. Already in Europe, he competed in the Champions League, the Europa League, Serie A and Ligue 1, where he shared a team with top-level figures such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Neymar, Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi and Ángel Di María. He also participated in the Italian Cup, the Russian Cup and the French Champions Trophy. But there is one box that still remains empty: Leandro Paredes never played a Copa Libertadores match, a pending account that will finally be settled this Tuesdayfrom 9:30 p.m., when Boca opens its path in Chile against Universidad Católica, in the tournament that it has not won for 19 years and that was decisive for its return to Argentine soccer.
“An obsession”Paredes defined the desire to conquer a competition that he idealized from a very young age, when he enjoyed as a fan of the international conquests of Carlos Bianchi’s team, and that he was not able to fully experience during his first stage in the club, since, due to injuries or technical decisions, he was not able to add minutes in the most important competition in America. At 31 years old, the midfielder decided to return to Boca to become the club’s first captain to continental glory since 2007in which Juan Román Riquelme, today president, raised the cup at the Olympic Stadium in Porto Alegre, after the 2-0 victory against Gremio.
Paredes, who made his debut in Boca when he was just 16 years, four months and eight days old, was part of the squad between 2010 and 2013, although He did not play in the two editions of the Libertadores that the club faced in that period: 2012 and 2013. His main obstacle was injuries: shortly after his debut he suffered a fracture in his right foot that required a long recovery. He returned in 2011, played in the South American Sub 17 in Ecuador and, already in the Reserve, recovered the level that allowed him to be promoted to the squad by Julio César Falcioni, with whom he added two games in the Apertura that Boca won undefeated.
At the beginning of 2012, while the team was focusing all its guns on the Cup, it participated in the preseason in Tandil and appeared to be one of the club’s great appearances, but upon returning He fractured his other foot and was left off the list in good faith. That year, the team reached the final against Corinthians, but after a 1-1 draw at Bombonera, they fell 2-0 at Pacaembú and were unable to win. A month later, Paredes played his only international match with Boca: after the departure of Riquelme, He inherited the 10 shirt in the 0-0 draw against Independiente, in Avellanedaa result that decreed elimination in the round of 16.
With the arrival of Bianchi and the return of the idol, his chances began to reduce. He began 2013 as a starter, both in the friendlies and in the first round of the Clausura, but on the following day he was not even called up. For Bianchi, They lacked sacrifice and continuity in the gamesomething logical for an 18-year-old youth.
In that semester, He even went to the bench in two Libertadores games: the 2-1 defeat against Toluca in La Bombonera and the 2-1 victory against Barcelona, in Guayaquil, both in the group stage. While Boca advanced in the Cup, Paredes was adding minutes in the local tournament, excited to regain ground on the international level.
However, two episodes ended up truncating that expectation: Boca was eliminated in the quarterfinals against Newell’s, so it stopped competing at the end of May, and shortly afterward it suffered a serious blow in an open practice at Casa Amarilla, when A kick from Agustín Orion caused him to tear ligaments in his left ankle.
“When I was in my first stage, I was very young and I did not have the opportunity to compete in this important tournament. Today meeting that challenge is a dream. At the time I followed him from the outside, but this time he will find me in a much more leading role,” said Paredes, who will be a starter in Claudio Ubeda’s team and will not be on Saturday against Independiente, since he received the fifth yellow card against Talleres and will have to serve the sanction, with the aim of stay clean for the classic with River.
The steering wheel too He was close to playing in the 2025 Libertadores: Boca looked for him when he had not yet secured a place, but there was no financial agreement and, with a current contract in Roma, his return was postponed until mid-year, after Fernando Gago’s team was eliminated against Alianza Lima in the first instance of the playoffs. Finally, Paredes joined after the Club World Cup, a tournament that he followed from the stands with his family, all Boca fans.
This Tuesday will be for Boca and Paredes the first stop of a group stage of medium complexity, in which, in addition to Católica, they will face Barcelona and Cruzeiro, a Brazilian great that today is fighting relegation but maintains its historical weight.
“I will face this match with the same enthusiasm as other tournaments of this type, in which the bar is higher. On a collective level, we have grown in game, personality and competitiveness; “We are prepared for the demands and we are confident of playing a good game,” Paredes confided.
With the support of some 2,000 fans in the standsBoca will have the mission of rediscovering victory as a visitor in the Copa Libertadores, something it has not achieved for five games: four in 2023 – from the round of 16 to the final – and the first leg against Alianza Lima.
Ubeda will be able to put his ideal team on the field, with one exception: Leandro Brey will occupy the goal due to the injury of Agustín Marchesinwho did not recover from a tear in his right adductor and, although he traveled to Chile with the delegation, will not be in the game. In a similar situation there is Exequiel Zeballoswho has been out for more than two months due to a muscle injury and would not sign a roster either. In addition, the starting defense will return, Santiago Ascacibar will reappear and the double nine will remain with Miguel Merentiel and Adam Bareiro, both in great form.
With a European past and a selection journey, Paredes was missing this chapter. The Liberators, that desire that has dragged on since its beginningsbegins to be played now, with him in another position and with hope intact.
