Matko Miljevic put Racing’s next match into plain terms on the eve of a trip to Mendoza: the team needs character, personality and cleaner play if it wants to stop the slide. Speaking before Independiente Rivadavia Vs Racing Club, he said Racing has to win the ball and play with the conviction the coach demands, a message that lands with extra force as the club goes into Sunday at 21.30 still searching for stability.
That is why the keyword is being searched now. Racing has gone five matches without a win in the Torneo Clausura, with three defeats and two draws, and it arrives at the Bautista Gargantini under pressure to add three points if it wants to stay in range of playoff qualification. Miljevic said the team had a great week, that it looked solid, and that the idea being worked on is to keep building through passing and association rather than panic.
There is also a sharper reason his comments matter. Juan Pablo Vojvoda has seen improvement in Racing’s play and courage, and Miljevic has been one of the clearest beneficiaries of that shift: since Vojvoda’s arrival, he has started all eight Racing matches in the semester, six in the Torneo Clausura and two in the Copa Argentina. Against Independiente Rivadavia, Racing is expected to make four changes from the 0-0 draw with Boca, with Maravilla Martínez back after a two-match suspension and Matías Zaracho set to replace Gastón Lodico for tactical reasons.
The rest of the changes are just as telling. Gonzalo Escudero is expected to come in for Marcos Rojo because of discomfort in the left hamstring, while Alfonso Espino would replace Nacho Rodríguez after a high right ankle sprain. The projected side also keeps Miljevic in the middle of a team that the club believes is improving, even if the results have not yet caught up with the message.
That is the contradiction Racing has to live with on Sunday. Miljevic said the coach keeps insisting on personality, on putting together passes and connecting, but he also acknowledged the frustration of results and the reality that the club is still in an antepenultimate position in Zona B. In practical terms, the math is simple: with three points needed to try to reach the playoff zone, every dropped result narrows the margin for error.
Miljevic’s own arc explains some of the urgency. He said he had gone through months complicated by extrafutbolistic problems after arriving at Racing, and now feels mentally and emotionally stable. For a player who described himself as happy to train and to play, especially at home in the Cilindro, Sunday is no longer just another fixture. It is a test of whether Racing can turn a better week and a clearer idea into a result that changes the picture.
Racing will find out quickly whether that improvement is enough. If Vojvoda’s side still cannot convert character into points at the Bautista Gargantini, the conversation around the team will move from promises of growth to the harder question of how long a five-match winless run can be carried before it starts to define the season.
