Peter Bosz is furious with Ángel Romero. During Thursday night’s international match between Argentina and Paraguay (1-1), Romero carried out a remarkable charge on Exequiel Palacios, one of Bosz’s midfielders at Bayer Leverkusen. The trainer speaks opposite Kicker the suspicion that Romero was out to seriously injure Palacios.

In the first half of the international match, which was completed as part of the World Cup qualifying cycle in South America, Romero planted his knees in the back of Palacios. This earned the Paraguay attacker a yellow card, while Palacios had to leave the field injured. The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder broke his back and is likely to be sidelined for three months. Bosz expects a longer absence. “If you break your leg, then you know how long you’re in a cast. But with an injury like this, it’s different. It can be over quickly, but it can also take a long time. I have no idea.”

Bosz did not stay up to watch the game live, but heard the bad news early in the morning. “The club doctor called me at 6:30 am. I thought we had our first corona infection because he doesn’t call at that time to ask, ‘Peter, how are you actually?’ I knew that something serious was going on, but I did not expect this, “says the Dutchman, who is furious with Romero. “The moment he flew into the game, he still has two meters to retract his knees. I’ve played soccer long enough to know: if you want to hurt someone, you can do it this way.”

A salient detail highlighted by the international media is that in December 2019, Palacios committed a foul on Óscar Romero, the twin brother of Ángel Romero. That happened in a game between River Plate and San Lorenzo; it was the last league game Palacios played for River Plate before moving to Bayer Leverkusen. “I don’t know”, Bosz responds when asked if he thinks Ángel wanted to take revenge for the charge on his brother. “But I played soccer long enough to know it wasn’t a normal offense.”

Exequiel Palacios’ charge on Óscar Romero in December 2019.

“Both knees are bent and he can no longer reach the ball. And when you hear what happened to his twin brother, then I think: yes. But I don’t know,” Bosz continues his answer to the question whether there was any. of revenge. “I was tough as a player, but there is a big difference between ferocity and a mean foul. Let alone if you consciously try to injure a player. And if you go into a duel with such a jump, you know that the other player will be seriously injured. I was not a good footballer, but I have never committed such a foul. “