He didn’t rush at the player, didn’t reach out, didn’t slide tackle, and didn’t even make any physical contact with Paredes.
He simply shifted laterally half a step early, planting his right foot right where the ball was rolling.
His body turned sideways with the momentum, completely blocking Paredes’s receiving lane.
As soon as the ball arrived, Tobías gently flicked his toe, and the ball changed direction.
Paredes stepped into empty air, his whole body rushing past Tobías’s side.
Clean, elegant, zero contact, no fouls, no wasted movement.
It was as if Paredes hadn’t suffered an interception, but had handed the ball to Tobías himself.
The stadium went quiet for half a second.
The next second, the River Plate stands exploded.
“Tobías!”
“It’s him again!”
“He intercepted Paredes again!”
The Boca Juniors fans’ cheers were cut short.
The group of people on the Boca Juniors bench who had just stood up froze in place.
Paredes stopped in his tracks and whipped his head around to look at Tobías.
His expression finally changed.
Once could be called carelessness.
But twice?
And this time, Boca Juniors had already executed their smoothest front-court coordination.
A three-on-two, continuous passing and cutting.
Two River Plate defenders were easily bypassed.
The offensive momentum had already reached the goal.
Yet Tobías hadn’t even touched him, simply taking the ball away.
In the European scout section, the Roma scout opened his mouth, unable to speak for a long time.
The Juve scout lowered his head and quickly scribbled a few lines in his notebook.
The person from Paris stared straight at Tobías, his expression far more serious than before.
“This isn’t just an interception; he saw Paredes’s receiving point in advance.”
“The move was too clean; it didn’t even give the referee a chance to blow the whistle.”
On the European broadcast feed, the commentary team was reacting.
“Intercepted again!”
“Paredes has been intercepted by Tobías for the second time!”
“Isn’t this play too ridiculous?
There wasn’t even any physical contact.”
“Boca Juniors had that three-on-two play going, and in the end, they were completely shut down by Tobías.”
“Who still says he’s just guessing?”
“Is this the person the Chinese national youth team banned?
The Football Association is really something.”
“Paredes is a genius talent being watched by three European giants, and he’s been intercepted by Tobías twice!”
After securing the ball, Tobías didn’t stop.
He looked up, scanned the field, and pushed the ball directly to Bebe on the right.
Bebe took off sprinting.
The River Plate counterattack unfolded instantly.
Gate followed from the center, and the other winger pressed up from the left.
Giovanni had already sprinted past the midfield line.
The four River Plate front-court players advanced simultaneously.
Boca Juniors had been pressing high, and now their defense was in chaos.
Bebe dribbled to the wing, drew in the Boca Juniors left-back, and then passed across to Gate in the center.
Gate didn’t hold onto the ball and immediately distributed it to Giovanni.
When Giovanni received the ball, there was only one center back beside him.
“Give it to me!”
The left winger shouted, and Bebe also overlapped from the right.
But Giovanni wanted to extend the lead too much this time; he didn’t pass, instead forcing his way into the penalty area.
The Boca Juniors center back immediately closed in, using his body to block his inside-cutting route.
Another tracking defensive midfielder arrived from the side.
Giovanni raised his foot to shoot, but the defensive midfielder poked the ball away.
This River Plate counterattack was stopped.
“Ah!”
Giovanni held his head, his face full of regret: “Damn it!
I should have passed earlier!”
Bebe spread his hands: “I was wide open on the right!”
Gate also shouted: “Don’t charge in alone!”
Giovanni raised his hand: “My bad!”
Tobías didn’t blame him, just ran back: “Keep pressing, don’t let them play the ball comfortably.”
Boca Juniors regained possession, but from this moment on, the game changed.
Paredes remained the core of Boca Juniors, and they still gave the ball to him.
But every time he received the ball, he would first look at Tobías’s position.
In the 28th minute, a Boca Juniors center back passed vertically to find Paredes.
Paredes tried to receive with his back to the goal, but Tobías didn’t press him, instead standing on the path where he would turn.
Paredes had to pass back.
In the 30th minute, Paredes dropped back to receive the ball, wanting to use a long pass to hit the space behind the River Plate right-back.
Just as he looked up, Tobías had already retreated to the center-right, blocking that route.
Paredes paused for a second and switched to a pass to the wing.
The ball speed was a beat slow.
The River Plate fullback pressed up immediately, forcing the ball out of bounds.
In the 33rd minute, Boca Juniors executed a quick passing and cutting play.
The right winger and the striker played continuous wall passes, and Paredes made a diagonal run from the center, preparing to receive the third pass.
Tobías didn’t follow the ball; he had already positioned himself in front of Paredes.
The moment the ball was passed, Paredes couldn’t charge forward and could only watch as Tobías used his instep to deflect the ball to Gate.
Gate was stunned for a second after receiving the ball, then shouted: “Beautiful!”
The Boca Juniors players were getting anxious.
“Why is it him again?”
“Stop playing through the center!”
But without playing through the center, Boca Juniors lost their sharpest blade.
If Paredes wanted to control the tempo, Tobías would block his receiving point.
If Paredes wanted to make a forward run, Tobías would block the passing lane.
If Paredes wanted to drop back to distribute, Tobías wouldn’t press, only sealing off his most comfortable passing direction.
Once, twice, three times.
Boca Juniors’ offense felt like it had hit a transparent wall.
They could see the gaps, but they couldn’t pass through them.
They wanted to speed up, but every time, Tobías stepped on the brakes beforehand.
The Boca head coach’s expression on the sidelines grew increasingly ugly.
“Spread out!
Don’t have everyone crowding the center!”
“Paredes, go to the wing to receive!”
Paredes heard him.
In the 37th minute, he actively drifted to the right.
This time, Tobías didn’t follow him tightly.
The River Plate fullback pressed up, Gate covered the center, and Tobías stood in the half-space.
After receiving the ball, Paredes finally had space to move forward.
He took two quick small steps, shook off the River Plate fullback, and suddenly cut inside.
The Boca Juniors fans were just about to cheer.
Tobías was already standing on the first passing lane after his inside cut.
Paredes came to a sudden stop, trying to cut back.
Tobías didn’t fall for the feint, just retreated half a step, continuing to block the connection between him and the striker.
Paredes was forced to pass horizontally.
As soon as the ball rolled out, Gate rushed up and made an interception.
Intercepted again.
This time, even the River Plate fans couldn’t help but applaud.
It wasn’t a goal, a dribble, or even a spectacular shot.
It was just positioning in advance, again and again, sealing lanes, again and again, leaving Boca Juniors’ strongest midfielder with nowhere to go.
But for those who understood this kind of defense, it made their scalps tingle.
High in the stands, Diego Simeone had stood up completely.
He gripped the railing with both hands, his gaze locked tightly on Tobías.
The entourage whispered: “Diego Simeone, you’ve been watching him for almost half the game.”
Diego Simeone didn’t shift his gaze: “Because he is worth it.”
The entourage was stunned.
Diego Simeone’s voice grew lower, but faster: “He doesn’t rely on aggression, he doesn’t rely on contact, he doesn’t rely on speed.”
“He relies on positioning sense.”
“Every time Paredes wants to accelerate, he is already planted at that spot.”
“This kind of defensive talent is perfect for Atlético Madrid.”
The entourage looked toward the field: “But he is only sixteen, his body hasn’t fully developed yet.”
/c/DRUNK_TL(remove space between)