The cracks of the future: who they are and how they train the 23 great promises of Argentine sport

From football to hockey and from motoring to boxing, Clarín introduces you to 23 youth from 12 disciplines who will be famous for their exploits in a few years. Your stories, your dreams and your brands. Meet them

02/04/2020 - 6:30

• Clarín.com
• sports

Once upon a time Lionel Messi, Juan Martín Del Potro, Delfina Pignatiello, Luciana Aymar and Emanuel Ginobili were no more than pibitos with a handful of dreams. Many boys grew up watching them and decided they wanted to follow their paths. And some of them arrived at places of privilege. Clarín looked for about twenty young athletes who are considered, almost unanimously in each of their environments, as the greatest Argentine promises.

Its beginnings and origins are dissimilar . There are those who, like the tennis player Solana Sierra, came half by chance: "I was on vacation, we went to play a court and, as my dad saw that I had enough coordination, he scored me in class." Also those who did not want to know anything about the sport but ended up falling in love, such as basketball player Francisco Cáffaro ("I dreamed of working in the field") or swimmer Mainque Mujica ("I didn't want to know anything; I started crying every time I entered the water").

On their paths there are sacrifices and, in many cases, they chose to put aside what most young people of their age live, although they do not stop being boys or having fun as such. In fact, everyone agrees by ensuring that they do what they like. And they are good. So much that the paths of their sports populate with illusions.

Francisco Cáffaro (18 years old) / Basketball

Product of the NBA Academy in Australia, it is a pivot that did not start playing basketball until after the age of 13. His natural talent made him stand out too quickly. Today he is in his second season (the first with the possibility of playing) at the University of Virginia in the United States, nothing less than the NCAA champion.

He played last year's U19 World Cup with the Youth Team and was summoned by Sergio Hernández for the pre-World Cup preparation for China. "I never thought about doing sports or getting far doing it," he says humbly. "Only when I did well in a couple of selection tournaments did I say 'well, maybe I can do something'," he adds.

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Florencia Chagas (18 years old) / Basketball

From the age of four he did ballet, gymnastics and skateboarding but he fell in love with basketball, the sport that Dad practiced. It started among the boys, when he started playing with girls he broke it and the scouts did not take long to detect it.

He participated in the Youth Olympic Games in 2018, was summoned on the NBA Without Borders campuses, is today in the Famila Schio (the best club in Italy) and debuted in the National Team last year. The perimeter is one of the references for basketball girls and assumes it with maturity: "Little by little in Argentina our sport is growing and with effort and perseverance you can play and study. Hopefully not all the volleyballs go!" .

Victoria Mayer (18 years old) / Volleyball

His rise was meteoric. Two and a half years ago he played his first major youth tournament and has been in his first months in the National Team, with which he won bronze in Lima 2019.

Her performance in the Pan-Americans was the last reason that convinced the powerful Brazilian Flamengo, who hired her from this season. "It's not easy, especially it wasn't at the beginning, but it was my dream. Today I enjoy it a lot because that's what I chose," says Victoria Mayer.

Luciano Palonsky (20 years old) / Volleyball

It was Pan American gold, he won the title, in the absence of the main figures, in the World Cup in Japan (5th place) and was captain and figure of the U21 team that came out 5th in the Bahrain World Cup in 2019.

Lulo is also the great volleyball card, which he leads in the Argentine League (the team marches second) and with which he dreams of fighting the hegemonic Bolívar. "I am very excited to go as far as possible in the League, but the most important thing is to be happy," says with freshness and common sense who was chosen as Revelation of the last League.

Brian Arregui (20 years old) / Boxing

The entrerriano already lived the experience of getting an Olympic medal: he was champion in the category up to 69 kilos in the Youth Games Buenos Aires 2018. After that achievement, he took the podium at the prestigious István Bocksai Memorial tournament in Budapest last February , he was consecrated national champion of elders in June and reached the knockout stages at the Ekaterinburg World Cup in September. He was also distinguished with the Silver Olympiad and the Firpo Prize as the best amateur boxer of 2018.

The path that little Briana's father is traveling has another Olympic medal as a final objective, in Tokyo 2020, although for this he must first earn a place in the Continental Pre-Olympic to be held in Buenos Aires in March.

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Sofía Robles (19 years old) / Boxing

He started boxing four years ago at the United gym at Villa Diamante. He then went through the Villa Argerich de Lanús Development Society before arriving at Racing. She is regional youth champion in the category up to 51 kilos and in 2018 she was consecrated national youth champion in Alta Gracia (Córdoba) in the category up to 54 kilos.

The good results and yields allowed him to join the national team and participate last year of all the concentration campuses. "I want to learn from my teammates and someday be up to them," he says. She is an admirer of Kazakh Gennady Golovkin, that's why she is nicknamed Golovkina.

Pablo Zaffaroni (18 years old) / Athletics

He discovered the pole vault when he was 11 years old thanks to his physical education teacher at the school in Concepción del Uruguay. Since then, his life was linked to athletics. In 2018 he had his first Olympic experience at the Youth Games in Buenos Aires and won the best mark of his career in a tournament in Torrance (California): 5.25 meters. In 2019 he won the South American U20 in Cali, was runner-up in the Pan-American of the same category that was played in San José de Costa Rica and was awarded U23 national champion in Rosario.

By its brands, it is the second best garrochista in the country, behind the historic Germán Chiaraviglio. He would like to venture into acting once he leaves the sport. He already advertised a drink and even offered him a role in a novel, but for now he prefers to prioritize the jump.

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Luciana Gómez Iriondo (16 years old) / Athletics

Half of this santafesina's life was spent with a pole in her hand. The one that ended a couple of weeks ago was the best year of his career: he was consecrated U20 South American champion in Cali and won the bronze medal in the Pan American of that category in San José de Costa Rica.

Last September it jumped 4.01 meters in Santiago de Chile and that brand placed it as the absolute number one of 2019 in Argentina. I was convinced that I could reach this height, but I recognize that I did not expect to achieve it so soon. His sister Paula, 13, also practices pole vault. Luciana enjoys joining the sport and wishes that they can soon share tournaments and trips.

Solana Sierra (15 years old) / Tennis

La Marplatense tried several sports - swimming, horse riding and dance - before deciding on tennis. Her talent made her stand out from a very young age, but 2019 was the year that ratified her as a player with the greatest projection of our country. Aggressive tennis player with good setback and a predilection for the hard courts, today he is located in the 619th step of the junior ranking and, with only 15 years, is 1,122th in the WTA ladder.

Last season, at the junior level, he won two titles in grade 5 (J5) tournaments, one in Lambare (Paraguay) at the end of July and another in Cordoba, a week later. In addition, he began to play the ITF professional circuit (Women's ITF) and reached the semifinals at W15 in Buenos Aires. And he had the pleasure of participating in the clinic and playing a set with Guillermina Naya in the previous exhibition of Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev in Buenos Aires, an experience he will not forget. In the future, aim high.

"In 2020 I want to start playing more professional tournaments. And in the long term, my big dream is to win the US Open," he says.

Juan Bautista Torres (17 years old) / Tennis

The Buenos Aires always liked to do things on his own. Therefore, when he had to choose between football and tennis, at age 12, he chose to hang up the boots and keep the racket. And he was not wrong. Number 15 of the junior world and owner of a title (grade 5 of El Sauce 2017), in 2019 he was a finalist of the prestigious Orange Bowl Sub 18 - he lost with Thiago Tirante - and he had the pleasure of playing three Grand Slams in this category, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.

In September he added his first ATP point in the M15 (former Future) of Santiago de Chile, where he reached the quarterfinals, and today he is 1,348 in the ranking that Novak Djokovic once again led from Monday. He prefers the brick dust courts, because on that surface he formed, and as his drive is his best shot, he is a bit reflected in Juan Martín Del Potro. His dream? "First winning a Grand Slam in junior. And then, as a professional. Especially Wimbledon, which was always my favorite. In 2019 I was able to play it and when I first entered the club, it was a shock. I will never forget that moment, "he says.

Juan Ignacio Méndez (19 years old) / Swimming

A special way to see the sport has this porteño admirer of Damián Blaum and Federico Grabich. "I did not choose this sport because I want to win, but because I am passionate about it. I like the competition, but what I enjoy most is the whole previous process and I try to capture that work in the pool so that the best result comes out," he says. For now, at least, it works.

In 2017, SAG swimmer Villa Ballester won the bronze medal in 100 backs in the Cali South American Youth in 2017; the gold in 200 back - his preferred test - in the South American Games of the Youth of Santiago of Chile and disputed the World-wide Youth of Indianapolis, where it was 19 ° in 200 back. He was tenth in the 200 back in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. And last December, in the National that was run in the swimming pool of the Olympic Park of Villa Soldati, he won the gold in that test with 2m01s83 and broke the The oldest Argentine record that retained Argentine swimming: the 2m02s73 that Guillermo Mediano had established in March 1995.

Mainque Mujica (15 years old) / Swimming

When her mother took her to a swimming school in Caseros for the first time, Mujica didn't want to know anything about throwing herself into the water. But later he took pleasure in the sport and since he was 11 he is a federated swimmer of SAG Villa Ballester. Today he spends his days at CENARD, where he attends secondary school - he passed to the third year - and trains in double shifts every day.

Specialist in chest style, in March 2019 he was gold in the 50 meters in the Argentine Cadets of Santiago del Estero and in April, he won the gold in 50 and the silver in 200 in the South American Youth Championship of Santiago de Chile. He also had a great performance in the Argentine Senior Championships that ran at the end of that month at CENARD: he hung the bronzes in the 50, 100 and 200. From this 2020 he will work with only one goal. "My closest dream is to reach the 2022 Dakar Youth Olympic Games," he says.

Carolina Bono (19 years old) / Handball

The handball was like a family mandate for Bono, who started practicing this sport at SAG Villa Ballester following in the footsteps of his three brothers, Nicolás, Gonzalo and Fernando. That club served as a platform to fulfill his dream of wearing the Argentine shirt, which he first put on in 2016 for a South American Cadet. In 2018 he was one of the figures of the team that won the bronze in the Pan American Youth of Buenos Aires and qualified for the World Cup that was played in Poland in August, where the team was 20th.

This Buenos Aires player is so good that at the end of last year she had the opportunity to make a quality leap. In December he armed his suitcases and went to Spain, where he will play for three months in Bolaños, a team that fights to ascend to the highest category of that country's league. "I'm going to impersonate Lila Lacazette during that time, an Argentine center that got injured and couldn't complete the season. It's a unique opportunity. It's the right time to try and see if I want to live from this and if I really want to continue my career in Europe, "he explains excitedly.

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Santiago Barceló (17 years old) / Handball

His father was a handball coach and was responsible for Santiago and his brothers Joaquín and Nicolás falling in love with handball. Admirer of Diego Simonet - "I always watch his videos and try to imitate him to improve," he says, "the central plays in Vicente Lopez Vilo and began his career with the Argentine shirt very early. At age 13 he was consecrated champion of the South American Minors of Asunción, in 2016.

In 2019 he was one of the most prominent of the team that finished 14th in the Macedonia Youth World Cup and signed one of the best historical performances for Argentina in that category. "The triumph of the debut against the local in that tournament was one of the most beautiful moments I lived in my career," recalls who, despite not having finished high school, already thinks about the future. After passing through Macedonia, he began to "talk" with a European club that wants to sign him for the 2021 season.

Brisa Bruggesser (17 years old) / Field hockey

Although he first did artistic gymnastics, at the age of 5 he started playing hockey at the Los 50 club in Tandil, where he still follows, for a curious reason: "Since I didn't compete and they didn't ask me to go see, my dad scored me in hockey in the club that is two blocks from my house. I liked it right away because it is so much fun, you become friends and I love the competition, I don't like losing anything, "he says.

In 2018 she was one of the Leoncitas champions in the Youth Olympic Games, in the five hockey mode, and last September the lead that has Carla Rebecchi and Delfina Merino as a reference was first convened to Las Leonas. Although not yet debuted, says that being with the senior selected "is already a goal met." Meanwhile, he prepares for this year's Junior Pan American in Chile with Las Leoncitas.

Ignacio Nardolillo (16 years old) / Field hockey

Two years ago, with just 14, the tucumano joined the 2020-2024 Olympic Projection group and that was when he hung up the booties. "While my mother and everyone in my family played hockey and I liked it, I also played soccer, 5 or 8, in North Central," he recalls.

Last year, in the Argentine Sub 16 Selections in which Tucumán achieved a historic runner-up - he lost the final with Buenos Aires - Nacho was chosen as the best player. With Agustín Mazzilli and Lucas Vila as referents, the striker of San Martín de Tucumán dreams of "playing the U21 World Cup, reaching Los Leones and one day playing abroad."

Brisa Carraro (14 years old) / Gymnastics

His choice for this sport is not surprising: gymnastics was born naturally in a family made up of a mother gymnast, a father who dedicated himself to ornamental leaps and gymnast brothers. At 14, Buenos Aires is the current South American youth champion and in 2019 she participated in her first Youth World Cup in Hungary.

His first title was the South American Pre-Childhood of Rosario, the only joy of a 2015 full of anguish. “It had been a very difficult year because my sister passed away. And winning was just for her, ”he recalls. A year later she was a South American children's champion and now intersperses her days with concentrations with the senior team. “Next year there is a World Cup, there is the Pan American Youth and the South American. My dream? Once he is older he will go to an Olympic Game, "he shares.

Santiago Gómez (17 years old) / Gymnastics

The entrerriano approached gymnastics after passing the greatest pain: "At 6 years old I played football in a Concordia club and, although I didn't like it very much because they didn't put me, my dad took me to those games. When he passed away I stopped wanting to go. " His cousin Santiago Mayol, a member of the senior artistic gymnastics team, was his gateway to the sport and at 8 he participated in his first Provincials.

His baptismal title was in a Club Nacional in 2013 and a year later he played his first South American: "It was a very big sacrifice to travel to Peru. As there was no financial support, with my family we made a sale of chickens to raise funds," he recalls . Last year - his last as a youth - he was among the two gymnasts who in the selective won their ticket to the World Cup. "The next goal is the Pan-American of this year's seniors and the dream is to be among the 24 best gymnasts to go to an Olympic Game," he confesses.

Chiara Singarella (16 years old) / Football

Her name became known in 2018 for a particularity: she was the youngest of the Argentine delegation that played the Odesur Games in Cochabamba. With 14 he was selected in the U20 that played that tournament, as had happened shortly before in the South American category.

Now, the Mendoza alternates calls to the Sub 17 and the Sub 20 and also the handball team. How? Yes, he practices both sports in high performance and in November the best pivot of the South American Cadet was chosen that was played in Mendoza and in which Argentina finished third. Fourth-year college student, imagine a future in the United States: "My goal is to go to study medicine and play college football." And he adds: "Afterwards, the dream is to play in Spain, at Barsa, and reach the Major to play a World Cup."

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Matías Palacios (17 years old) / Football

He showed that he carries the pasture in his blood and plays as he lives. He debuted in Primera in 2018 at 16 years, 4 months and 11 days: nobody in the history of San Lorenzo had done it at such an early age. He was champion and figure of South American Sub 15 and Sub 17 and his chiches with the ball, especially with the shirt of the Youthful selections, already became viral.

Pablo Aimar himself, his coach in the junior teams, said that the midfielder has "Riquelme stuff" and in Boedo they have already tried to shield him with a clause of 20 million euros before the imminent interest of important teams in Europe.

Martín Vaca (18 years old) / Rugby

He plays in the Jockey Club of Villa María, where he started playing at age 4 on the incentive of his father, former club player. It belongs to the M19 category and also trains with the top squad, always in the position of hooker. In the Pumitas, he played in the M18 category. He sympathizes with the Toulon of the French Top 14 and has idols Rodrigo Bruno (former Jockey Club player, currently in Selknam of Chile) and South African hooker Malcolm Marx. In addition, he likes football and is a fan of Belgrano.

"My biggest dream is to play one day in the Pumas," said the young Cordovan, whom the Argentine Rugby Union considers as one of the players with the greatest potential of those that arise through the UAR System.

Breeze Wheat (18 years old) / Rugby

He started practicing handball and circus, but then he dedicated himself to rugby because he felt "comfortable and being part of a family". He played in Social La Rioja since he was 12 years old and also served in the Andean National Team, trained in both teams by his father Claudio Trigo. This year he will play at the University of Córdoba, when he moves to that province to study the Physical Education faculty. However, Brisa wants her future to be linked to elite rugby and hopes "to have the chance to play in another country."

With the national youth team, he played the qualifier for the Youth Olympic Games in 2018 and in 2019 he was in the South American of Chile in the M18 category, while with the Rugby 7 top squad he participated last year of the Hong Qualys Kong and Lima (qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympic Games), the South American of Paraguay and the Rosario Beach Games, where the gold medal was hung. Its referents are María Paula Pedrozo and Mayra Aguilar, partners in the women's team of Seven.

Enzo Torres (14 years old) / Car racing

His name says it all. He owes it, of course, to Ferrari. Before he was 10 years old, he was already in karting and in just two years he won his first title, the Junior Division TBR Cup he won in 2018. All, despite its size brought some inconvenience. "Weight was always a problem, so I had to follow a rigorous eating plan," he explains.

Today he looks impeccable and already works as a professional, in addition to joining the SAP Team as a test driver. His dream is Road Tourism or one of the national categories. Always keep in mind the words that the legendary Skinny Traverso dedicated to him: "I ran and formed because when you get into a race car, your dad is not going to have more money."

Production and texts: Luciana Aranguiz, Matías Calomarde, Mauricio Codocea, Sabrina Faija, Luciano González and Nicolás Vertone.