MONTREAL – “Man, it’s cold out here today. Don’t you have a coat?”
Yes, Victor Cabrera is still learning to adjust to the Montreal climate. But the sort of discomfort he's experienced in Quebec pales in comparison to that of his comrades at River Plate.
Cabrera, on loan from the Argentine giants, saw his mates feel the heat last Thursday night when they took on archrivals Boca Juniors at La Bombonera. One of the biggest rivalries in the world, River and Boca had been drawn together in the Copa Libertadores Round of 16, ratcheting the Buenos Aires-derby to unfortunate new heights.
Just before the start of the second half, Boca supporters shot pepper spray into the tunnel leading to the field. Four River players – former FC Dallas youth player Ramiro Funes Mori, Matias Kranevitter, Leonardo Ponzio and Leonel Vangioni – left for the hospital with burns. South American confederation CONMEBOL suspended the game before the second half could begin, awarding the tie to River Plate the next day and banning Boca from the competition on Sunday.
Speaking to MLSsoccer.com last Friday morning, Cabrera conceded that incidents such as these can be an incentive for more South American players to contemplate a switch to MLS.
“A couple of people have asked me about how it is here,” Cabrera said. “I told them that it’s calm, that the people are nice. It’s another world. But the passion over there is huge. But I think that there’s interest from [players in Argentina]. There’s a lot going on there, the insecurity, everything. [Moving to MLS] can be a good idea.”
To be fair, Cabrera may not have been at field level on Thursday even if he’d stayed in Argentina; he has only played one game with the River first team, in February 2014.
Even then, Cabrera felt powerless as he watched on TV. He said it was the first time that fans using pepper spray had disrupted a Boca-River Superclásico.
“What’s nice about Argentinean football is the people, the support,” Cabrera said. “Some things are said, but there’s a line you can’t cross. You can’t use pepper spray like that. Incidents like these can’t happen.”
On loan until the end of the MLS season, Cabrera has gone through a lot already with Montreal. He has adapted to a new position, right back, and contributed to the Impact’s CONCACAF Champions League campaign with his first professional goal, the second in a 2-0 semifinal first leg win against Costa Rica’s Alajuelense.
An ankle injury has slowed him down since, but he’s enjoying himself enough that he is considering a long-term stay – all the more so since Thursday night’s incident.
“The truth is I like it here a lot,” Cabrera said. “I like the club. I feel good. It’s a shame that I can’t play right now with the injury. I'm on loan, but I’d like it if I were to stay here. But we have to see with games, how it goes. But yeah, it’s nice, I like it.”
