Southampton vs Aston Villa

16 / saints
of the Community
Shield, against Boca
Juniors, on his final
appearance for the club.
Fittingly, it came
through ghosting into
the box and heading
home a cross, which
had already become
Alcaraz’s trademark
when still a teenager.
That was not the end
of the drama, however,
as his goal sparked a
sequence of events that
became global news,
as seven players were
sent off in the melee
that followed, including
Alcaraz himself for
removing his shirt and
celebrating in front of
the Boca Juniors fans.
That took the total of
red cards in the final to
ten, with seven going
to Boca players, forcing
the referee to end the
game early and award
the trophy to Racing.
All in all, it was an
eventful way to bow out
for Alcaraz, who made
his Premier League
debut last weekend, two
months on from that
extraordinary send-off.
It perhaps goes some
way to explaining why
the 20-year-old hopes
Saints can help him
improve by being “calmer
on the pitch”, but this is
a player with enormous
potential to complement
the fire in his belly, whose
“My attributes
include
shooting from
outside the
box, headers
and getting
into the box.
That’s what I
really like.”