Enner Valencia will make his first start for Boca Juniors on September 5, 2026, when the side meets Gimnasia y Esgrima de Mendoza in the eighth round of the Torneo Clausura of the Primera División de Argentina. The 36-year-old forward is set to be in the lineup at 14:30 at the Víctor Antonio Legrotaglie stadium, giving Boca its first look at him from the opening whistle.
That matters because Valencia is still waiting for his first Boca Juniors goal. This will be his fifth appearance for the club, and he has already gone more than 100 days without scoring, a stretch that has only sharpened the focus on what he can deliver now.
Valencia joined Boca Juniors on August 9, 2026, and his contract runs until December 31, 2027. The search around him is not just about fitness or reputation. It is about whether Boca can finally turn a short burst of appearances into a real attacking return from a striker who has long been known as Ecuador’s all-time leading scorer.
Rodolfo Arruabarrena is still backing him despite the scoreless run and a missed penalty in Boca Juniors’ recent shootout against Vélez Sarsfield in the Copa Argentina. Boca advanced 4-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in regulation time, but Tomás Marchiori stopped Valencia’s effort, while Álvaro Montero saved two penalties for Boca in the shootout. The sequence left Valencia with another reminder that his next chance has to count.
That is why this start feels more deliberate than routine. Arruabarrena is not waiting for the drought to end before using him from the outset, and Boca are choosing this match to test whether Valencia can carry the pressure into a bigger role. After Gimnasia y Esgrima de Mendoza, Boca Juniors will face São Paulo in the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals, which makes this first start less of a note on the team sheet than a measure of whether Valencia is ready to matter immediately.
