6 July 2003: In the last game of the Clausura 2003 championship Rosario Central hosted Boca Juniors. Boca were in 2nd place but the championship had already been won by their fierce rivals River Plate. Boca had just won the final of the 2003 Copa Libertadores, making them champions of South America for the 3rd time in 4 seasons, so they put out a number of reserve team players and suffered a historic 7-2 defeat as a consequence, with Luciano Figueroa poaching 5 goals to make him the top scorer in the championship with 17 in 19 games.
Aftermath
Luciano Figueroa was sold to Premier League side Birmingham City for £2.5 million later that summer, but he suffered six months of inaction as manager Steve Bruce refused to give him a chance to play in the first team, he was eventually offloaded to Cruz Azul of Mexico where he set about rebuilding his career.
Boca continued their run of success winning another 7 international titles and 4 league titles over the following 5 years before their form slipped in 2009 ending the most successful period in the club's history.
Figueroa returned to Rosario Central in 2009, but they were relegated from the Primera División at the end of the 2009-10 season.
For more great games involving South American teams, check out the rest of the Partidazo series.
