For Argentine football sage Cesar Luis Menotti, he is the best striker in Argentina after Lionel Messi. At Bayer Leverkusen, Lucas Alario has mostly been a noble joker. But now comes his big chance.
Porto (AP) - In the national team, he stormed alongside Lionel Messi, he wears 13 like Michael Ballack and Rudi Völler - and now Lucas Alario is finally really important at Bayer Leverkusen.
But before the departure for the second round second leg of the Europa League at FC Porto (Thursday, 6:55 p.m. / DAZN), the 27-year-old did not seem more tense than usually. Rather solved. Serene, but full of anticipation. With his hands in his pockets, white headphones in his ears and even a small smile on his face, the Argentinean strolled to Cologne Airport on Wednesday morning.
For almost the entire two and a half years in Germany, the once € 24 million goal scorer was only a noble joker at Leverkusen. But now it really matters to him. Kevin Volland will probably be out for the rest of the season because of a broken syndesmosis band. Alario, who has repeatedly asked for more playing time and has coquetted several times with a change, will now be set.
"He will definitely get a lot more play now," said sporting director Völler: "And I'm sure he will do it really well." Völler, a professional himself a goal scorer and even a world champion in 1990, sees Alario as "a classic center forward with an old streak, who of course lives a bit from flanks and templates". Volland is missing Bayer, "mainly because he can play in many positions". But one of the big problems for Leverkusen this season was the lack of efficiency. And an Alario with confidence can only really help.
Especially since he already has a good quota as a part-time worker who often struggles. So far, he has scored 33 goals in 87 competitive matches. The striker from the small town of Tostado, whose role model is Luis Suárez, is valued in his homeland. The greatest praise came from Cesar Luis Menotti, the Argentine footballer and world champion coach from 1978. "Lucas Alario is our second best striker after Messi," said Menotti. And this despite the fact that the rivals Albiceleste are Sergio Agüero (Manchester City), Gonzalo Higuaín, Paulo Dybala (both Juventus Turin) and Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain).
At home, Alario met so reliably that many assumed that his nickname "El Pipa" (literally "The Pipe") would mean "rifle". Which is not true. "It means" the pipe, "said Alario with a smile." I've been called that since I was young. They said that my big nose reminded me of a pipe. "
On Thursday Alario is Bayer's hope after the 2-1 first leg win against Porto. Because goals should be the key to the round of 16. "We have shown time and again that we can also score goals against strong opponents," said Völler. "And that will be the basis. Only defending is useless in Porto." Basically, a 2: 1 is "always a dangerous result. We extended all antennas."
Press kit in German at uefa.com
