Maximiliano Benozzi
07/07/2020 - 12:30
- Clarín.com
- sports
On July 17, 1994, Brazil beat Italy on penalties at California's Rose Bowl stadium in the United States and became world champion. A month earlier, in Vicente López, a 16-year-old teenager, skinny, dark-haired and with voluminous hair, debuted in a match against Gimnasia La Plata for the Clausura '94 of Argentine soccer, who at the end had an anti-doping control surprise for the 32 footballers.
That kid who had been born on October 15, 1977 in Rouen, the capital of the Normandy region, in northern France, while his father, Jorge, played on that city's team, but had been raised between Villa Martelli and Florida, in the north of the Buenos Aires suburbs, did not know at that time that four years later he would be at the Stade de France, in Paris, hugging the most precious cup for every footballer in his hands, after the French team thrashed 3-0 to Brazil and will be the world champion for the first time.
Twenty-two years after that conquest, which would change his life and mark his career, at 42 years old and with the same look with shaved hair with which he has been known since that time, David Trezeguet hears Clarín's call from Turin , where he reinstated a little more than five years ago as he serves as an ambassador for Juventus, a club in which he played for a decade and made history. And while in the background the voice of his two-year-old son is heard (he has two others, already teenagers, from his first marriage), he asks if he listens well. The voice is clear. As clear as his words to express the different concepts to talk about today, to explain what he wants for his future and to remember his past.
David Trezeguet with his colleagues from the French National Team and the world cup in the festivities on the streets of Paris in 1998. Photo: Rick Bowmer.
And among its past, the World Cup prevails on its own. So much so that in one of the photos that arrive after the interview he finds himself lifting the 18-carat solid gold trophy weighing 6,170 kilograms again. That cup that on television, at his Villa Martelli house, when he had not yet turned 9, saw him lift Diego Armando Maradona at his Villa Martelli house.
“Diego was my idol and I grew up with his image raising the Cup in Mexico '86. And twelve years later I had that same image of mine in France '98. It was strong, very strong ”, he says in one section of the talk with a mixture of surprise, admiration and pride.
A young David Trezeguet forming part of the France National team that was world champion in 1998. Photo: REUTERS
-There are millions of players on the planet and a few world champions. You are one of them, what generates you?
-I experienced it very emotionally. But at that age the reflection is never there. I realized what it meant to be world champion when I was growing up, more when I retired than at that time when I was 20 years old. It is emotional. What I had to live was very good as there were also negative things that are part of the footballer's life. So I always say that great footballers are the ones who get up after a loss. I always followed that idea and it was a bit my way of thinking and living.
David de Trezeguet scores his goal in the 1998 World Cup against Saudi Arabia. Photo: Remy De La Mauviniere.
-When did you feel like this?
-When I had to lose a Champions League final (with Juventus against Milan in 2003) and a world final (with France against Italy in Germany 2006, in which a penalty was missed in the definition after the match ended 1-1) . They are situations that are not simple in the emotional. But the following year I imposed my qualities again and scored between 20 and 25 goals. A strong and important player is the one that prevails after a bad moment.
Trezeguet's disappointment after falling on penalties to Italy in the 2006 World Cup final in Germany. David missed his shot. It was a very hard blow. Photo: Clarín Archive.
- This that you say is what Messi lives in the Selection. Try again and prevail after a bad time. Do you think you will be able to achieve what you want so much?
-I wish as a fan that Leo Messi wins a World Cup. The best player in the world can not not win these types of trophies. But there are cases and as time goes by, Leo adds his age and he is going to have one of his last chances without forgetting that the Copa América also has to be a target for him. But it is not simple, it is not simple. And in a world cup you have to be prepared that month. Not a month before or two months later. It is that month. It is the right time, key, to be in perfect condition. And in the last World Cup, in France's victory over Argentina, the physical state, the emotional state, the singles were at the top, and beyond any isolated play, France deservedly won because it proved to be superior.
-How did you live that game?
-Different from the rest. The truth is that it was something very strong, very emotional. I had to play against Argentina a friendly match that Argentina won 1 to 0 with a goal from Saviola and I don't want to see or play those games because emotionally they are strong for me. In this France it was different. France proved to be different and deservedly won the world cup.
- it surprised to you that it gained the World-wide one of Russia?
-Not. Because he had been developing a great job, he was solid as a team and he had seen her in 2016 in the Eurocopa that lost the final with Portugal in an unusual way. Two years later it was a machine. France has a generation of boys between 19 and 25 years old that is interesting.
Mbappé is the future?
-Yes, it is the future prototype of what soccer is going to be. Physically he is the prototype of what the European footballer is. Tall, fine, extreme speed, he hits with both legs, it is a mix of Cristiano and Leo but with a technique superior to Cristiano's with an incredible physique and it should not be forgotten that he is 20 years old. Each generation has a model to follow and just as Leo and Cristiano were from the previous one, now Mbappé is going to be the prototype of the new generation and the model to follow.
-And what do you say between Messi and Ronaldo?
-Nowadays we always have that Leo dispute with Cristiano Ronaldo, we are talking about two guys who have shared the golden balls between them in the last twelve years. They are two soccer players who have already marked a unique history in soccer. And they want to keep earning more. I see him with Cristiano here at Juventus who having already won five Champions, his desire is to help Juve win that title after a long time. And it is the guide for your peers. But if you speak to my generation, Diego Armando Maradona will always be the most important icon. It was more different football. More aggressive. A football without cameras. That does not mean that Leo Messi is today the best player in the world. It has shown it at the level of numbers, titles, in all that sense.
Messi and the Ballon d'Or. For Trezeguet, Leo and Cristiano marked an era. Highlight Leo as the best in the world today and want him to win the world cup. Photo: Clarín Archive.
Cristiano Ronaldo with Paulo Dybala. For Trezeguet, Cristiano is the guide for Juventus to win the Champions League that he has been pursuing for a long time. Photo: Clarín Archive.
-What place does Diego occupy in your life?
-I have a relationship with Diego, also with the people around him. The last meeting I had with him was in Russia, at the World Cup. And Diego is always Diego. From the passionate, the emotional, the things he does ... Diego continues to generate that love of soccer. I have had the opportunity to be with him and what Maradona generates is very different from what happens with Leo, Cristiano or Neymar. Diego is pure emotion, he is an emblem. The soccer world loves Diego. Then your life is your life and you can agree or not, it is part of your privacy. In football terms we are talking about a guy from beyond.
Maradona at the World Cup in Russia. Trezeguet was reunited with Diego there and they shared a talk. They have a great relationship. Photo: Juano Tesone.
Before having in his hands the same trophy that Diego had in 1986, David made decisions that from the outside can be considered difficult or risky but for him they had little reflection and more adrenaline. First, as a 17-year-old teenager, he left the country he grew up in (Argentina) to go play and live in the one he was born in (France). And then to join the French National Team.
- Were those decisions very difficult?
- If you analyze my career it is true that all my decisions were with little reflection. I started at Platense and had the opportunity to go to Monaco, being a stranger and then go to Juventus and develop. It is true that my choices were poorly thought-out, instinctive, and emotional. But I like that kind of adventure. And one decision led to the other. I opted for the French passport and the nationality of that country because it was the only way I had to play soccer in France at the time when I had the chance to go. I couldn't do it as an extra-community. And then everything happened very quickly. I arrived in France in June 1995 (to Monaco) and in July 1998 I became world champion. It was very crazy, very strong and fast.
A flag with his face among the Juventus fans. David Trezeguet played ten years there. "Juventus is my life." He is the top foreign scorer in the history of the club. Today David lives in Turin and is an ambassador for the club. Photo: David Trezeguet's personal archive.
-And would you have changed all that by playing with the Argentine shirt?
- With respect to that question it happened to me to reflect it at some point. Playing in Juventus and after I had to play against the Batistuta, the Crespo, against all that generation, I once thought if I had had the possibility of having been called up to the Argentine National Team. But there was no option to choose. To have had that imaginary chance to play in Argentina I always thought about it.
Of celebration. A custom. In Juventus he played 10 seasons and scored 171 goals. He surpassed Enrique Omar Sívori to become the foreign player with the most goals in the history of Vecchia Signora. Photo: Clarín Archive.
- they never called to you of the Argentine Selection before you were added to the one of France?
-At that time it was rumored that Pekerman could summon me for the youth teams because he was on a list of 40 players but he never contacted me. And France called me up for the first time in January 1998 for a friendly against Spain, when the Stade de France (Saint-Denis) was inaugurated and I met 85 thousand people when in Monaco I played with 4 thousand people. It was a major change.
-And among those extravagant decisions was also to retire in India. What was it like to play there?
-Most of all it was an experience of sports, economic and social marketing. It is a country of 1,200 million inhabitants in which the main sport is cricket. And a group of owners wanted to promote soccer in India. It is another world, another identity, they are far from an organizational part. It was played in full stadiums but more for the high population they have than for the love of soccer itself.
-You were born in France and a large part of your life was spent abroad, mainly in Europe and you also went to the United Arab Emirates, you retired in India and now you live in Italy. But you grew up in a suburb of Buenos Aires. What do you remember of your days at Villa Martelli?
-Villa Martelli, Florida, Platense were the places that gave me the bases. Later I trained in Europe but I had my solid foundations in the neighborhood and in Platense, which was my springboard to everything. At that time you had the mix of soccer and the social and educational aspects that were fundamental. And I grew up with the policy that if I didn't go to school I wasn't going to play ball.
A teenage David Trezegut in his debut at Pirmera with the Platense shirt. With hair and just 16 years old. It was in June 1994 in a 1-1 against Gymnastics. A year later he went to France and joined Monaco. Photo: "Platense a la width" website
River, that love that did not end well
Trezeguet remembers his Argentine roots. And at some point he misses them. In fact, after –in another crazy decision– returning to Argentina in early 2012 to put on the River shirt, the club he is a fan of and play at the worst moment in the club's history, he planned to retire there and settle in the country. However, things did not go as expected. After Ramón Díaz decided not to have him, he went on loan to Newell's for one year (2013-2014) and then he had no more place. He ended up retiring very far from Núñez, in the Pune City of India, at the end of 2014 and returned to Europe.
-Did you want more in River?
-I would have liked to retire in River, it was an emotional feeling of my own. But for different circumstances it did not happen. I also didn't look for the reason. It was my destiny. Not being able to say goodbye with a greeting to the River world was something that I missed and it hit me hard. But things turned out like this.
David Trezeguet and his happiness of having worn the River shirt, club of which he is a fan. Here celebrating one of the 17 official goals that he made with the red band on his chest. Photo: Maxi Failla.
-Why didn't you turn around? When Gallardo took over, you ended the loan at Newell's. Did you ever have a chat with him?
-Yes, we had a talk with Marcelo and he gave me availability, but then the leadership made another decision that was respected on my part. I always tried to make things sincere and concrete because I was 36 years old and the solution was quick. Yes or no, we love you or we don't love you. And the answer was negative, so I turned to another direction.
-Did you quarrel that it ended like this after having returned at a very difficult moment in the history of River?
-It was not a thought I had. I was coming from an injury at the time and I am very grateful to the people at Newell's who opened the doors for me when I had to leave River and was recovering. I met a family, with the Gringo Heinze, Maxi Rodríguez, Bernardi, with a whole band of boys who had a very good footprint at the football level that Tata Martino imposed. I quickly got into that situation. I was already at the culmination of my career and the physique was making itself felt perhaps.
David Trezeguet posing for Clarín in one of the interviews he gave the newspaper as a River player. Photo: Clarín Archive.
-Was the decision to return to River was one of the most difficult you had to make at the moment for River or one of the easiest because it was to come and play at the club you are a fan of?
-It was a very simple decision for me. After talking to Matías (Almeyda), everything was solved right away. I wanted to go to know the River world. Beyond the story I was living at the time, I didn't even reflect on it. I did a strong preseason to get ready and play a second part of a difficult championship in which there was only one objective which was to go up to First Division. In a tournament that was the most difficult for Nacional B because until the last date four or five teams played for the promotion. And what I had to live was the knowledge of River, of madness and passion, of different emotions. It was six months of extreme madness. And the love of an audience that I earned in six months. And for me it was also interesting that Argentine football knows my qualities and my virtues. He wanted to demonstrate them in a championship that he knew little about.
Trezeguet has already removed the left-handed lash that will be nailed to the arch of César Monasterio. It was the first of two goals he made for Admiral Brown to sentence River's return to the First Division. Photo: Clarín Archive.
- Not long ago, in the same week anniversaries of the dates of the descent and the promotion were celebrated. You were in both games. In one as a fan, in the other as a player. What reflection do you make of what you lived?
-With Belgrano I was present as a fan and the truth that River went downhill was something incredible, inappropriate. When a club reaches such a situation, especially when there are averages, it is because you have been doing things wrong for a long time. And then what I had to live that last game in the B against Almirante Brown was that there was strong pressure because four teams came with chances of promotion and everything was defined on that last date. It was a long week. We stayed in a complex in El Tigre that Almeyda had managed and we trained there and the truth is that it was a strong, hard moment, there was significant football and media pressure from the people. But it was a nice experience to live it at my age. It is true that seeing the relief of several boys and Almeyda himself who had lived the situation of the descent was a more joy for them who had taken that weight off themselves than for me who had come to have that experience in River without much reflection. All that madness that was lived was something unique.
David Trezeguet celebrates one of the two goals that Almirante Brown scored on the last date of Nacional B, 2011-2012, on June 23, 2012, the day of River's return to Primera. Photo: Juano Tesone.
- Of Almeyda that I remember you have?
-I have a great memory of Matías, both professionally and personally. It was very important to me. I had known him as a rival in Italian football with all his temper. And the same temperament had him as a coach. With his strengths and weaknesses for being his first time as a technician. And he lived and suffered all that situation in a much stronger way than mine surely. He is an extraordinary guy who, beyond how he did things, always did them from the heart and with a very strong feeling towards the shirt and the River fan.
David Trezeguet celebrates with Matías Almedya a goal. El Pelado called him to join the team when River was at Nacional B. They had a great relationship, to the point that for David, Matías was one of the technicians who most marked him. Photo: Clarín Archive.
And of Daniel Passarella that you have left?
-Daniel out there lacked that necessary preparation for the presidency, which was not within his reach. But it gave important energy. We are talking about the best defender of Argentine soccer in its history. What Passarella gave on a playing field, with his virtues, his desire, his temperament, we find in few players. And his speech as a message to the team was strong. We are talking about a world champion guy. In the soccer aspect it contributed enormously. We took care of the playing field and not the other aspect. But I understand that the image of Daniel towards the fan was not the best. There it gives you the guideline that a player, even if he has won what he won as a soccer player, cannot necessarily be a good president. D'Onofrio shows it to you, which is the opposite. A great leader who never played soccer.
David Trezeguet with Daniel Passarella in his presentation at River in early 2012. Photo: Clarín Archive.
-What happened to Cavenaghi and Chori Domínguez?
-I tried to respect everything and I never got into controversy. Because imagine that with the extensive career I had I was not going to get into that subject of behavior, that of whether or not there was jealousy, which I do not know how to explain ... I spoke openly. Not only with Chori and Cavenaghi, but with everyone. I went to River for a goal that was everyone's goal and then the truth is that I have tried to talk to them, to contact them, more to Fernando than to Chori, but I never had an answer from the other side and it was in the past. Being older you see things differently. I openly believe in dialogue a lot, I like it when people say things to my face. I think it is the healthiest. But each one behaves in her own way. It does not mean that I agree or disagree, but on the other hand they never wanted to have a dialogue with me. And I do not live badly, not at all. The important thing is that there was a goal and it was achieved. Nor was it a matter of egos. I highly respect the issue of idolatry and I don't consider myself an idol of River. Yes a very dear person, who played a year and a half, although the important thing was in six months.
David Trezeguet with Cavenaghi and Chori Domínguez in a River training. There was no chemistry between them. Photo: Clarín Archive.
-And what generates you that the fan remembers you having played only a year and a half in River?
-It is that the first six months were very strong. Do not forget that it was a River in which not many showed availability to go. Look that they called me to put me the 9 of River that was in the United Arab Emirates at 34 at the time. That means that availability was low. Today everyone wants to go to River, but at that time there were few of us who wanted to go and I had the pleasure of knowing that fascinating world that is River, which I did not know beyond when I went as a fan. As a player I tried to respect the shirt and do my best for River. And with people a mutual love was generated. So the memory is unique.
The mutual love with the River public reflected in a goal celebration. Photo: Clarín Archive.
- Without what they did at that time, there would have been no Madrid?
-I have the most concrete example with Juventus. Beyond that that of Juventus was bureaucratic and that of River a mismanagement of many years in sports. When great clubs are reborn, they are reborn to make history. It is what happened with Juventus and it is what River is experiencing today. Teams that are used to winning by their history. And River returned to leave its mark as it did historically. It is a power of South American soccer.
David Trezeguet with Leonardo Ponzio in an interview for Clarín. Both arrived at River in January 2012 for the second part of the Nacional B tournament. Photo: Clarín Archive.
-Where and how did you live the Madrid final?
-I could not go because I was here in Turin with personal and work issues, but I lived it from here and I enjoyed it as a fan. Those finals are difficult to repeat in history, the two arch-rivals who are in a final of that magnitude and above in Madrid. Amazing.
- What generates you everything that Gallardo achieved?
-I met Marcelo at 21, 22 years old as a teammate in Monaco and I really had no idea what he could do as a coach. Marcelo has marked an ideology of what River is, of what he knew about River since he was a boy. He searched for it and found it. It gave him back that self-esteem, that idea of what River is, of his game, of his potential. And I think he is doing interesting and important work.
David Trezeguet and Marcelo Gallardo were partners in Monaco. There they met and maintained a cordial relationship. Photo: Lionel Cironneau]
-Do you see him directing in Europe soon?
-Marcelo has the characteristics to lead in European football. He has played in that football and knows him. What happens today is that the big clubs here are looking for European technicians in general, already established or with experience, or technicians who have been working in the training of youth from those clubs. When I speak of great clubs I speak of the top 10. Surely it gives Marcelo the ability to direct in Europe but directing a River like the one he directs, having the freedom of choice, which is what interests him the most, who not only cares about the professional team but also the youth ones in Europe it is more complicated. Here each one fulfills his role. The professional team coach trains the professional team. And Marcelo in River besides being a coach is a kind of manager up to the children's divisions. You are doing a unique job.
-Do you have contact with him today or with the leadership or with Francescoli?
-No, I have no contact with them. I saw Gallardo in the Liverppol-Tottenham final of the Champions League last year in Madrid. And he was with D'Onofrio. There was a broad, cordial greeting but I have no contact because I am in Europe and my stay when I go to Argentina is for vacations rather than for other things. If it happens, I like to go see River because I'm a fan of River but nothing else.
-Did you get closer to the opposition generated any resentment? Dress up as is politics in Argentina.
- It is certain, many times that happens in Argentina with politics. But is not the case. I was always very open about saying things. I went to support Antonio Caselli in the last elections because he was the person who gave me the opportunity to present a project. And beyond the electoral defeat, my situation was very clear regarding my goals with River. I know that politics always comes into play as you say, but I have no intention of leaving any rancor because my idea was always to try to add up as it was in his time as a player. In this case from another angle. And when I go to the field I go as one more fan and because I also like good football and River practices it.
- and in your desire it is the one to return to River in the function of manager at some moment?
-Yes. When I went to play Argentine soccer, I had to live a River world with a difficult moment in its history and, like any difficult moment, organizational things are not the best. Today River lives a remarkable sporting situation but it is also true that it is a power to improve widely.
-In what respects?
-In every way. In the development of its image, it can be given a broader value and reinforce that permanent contact that River has always had with European football. Today at least two players come to mind: Alario and Palacios who left because of their release clauses and there was no margin for negotiation. There, I think that dialogue channels can be opened with those clubs that can give you another vision of things and be able to have that agenda of contacts with European football. I like it when high-caliber players make the leap to Europe and don't go to other continents like other footballers. For me, the destiny of the good, very good player is Europe. I remember the Salas, the Almeyda, the Gallardo, the Crespo, they came here and had no other destination. I believe a lot in the contacts, in the market strategies and dialogues so that the player reaches the destination that has to arrive. And make your dream come true. I go beyond a business, the dream of a South American footballer is to play in Europe because he meets the best players in the world who play in the most important leagues in the world. Thats the reality.
The new Trezeguet, the leader
Leader. He was world champion with France and Italy with Juventus. He is now an ambassador for Vecchia Signora and dreams of returning to Argentina in a leadership role. Photo: Clarín Archive.
Trezeguet was surprised by the pandemic in March with his family in Madrid, where he was finishing the course of sports director. And after experiencing a difficult situation to return to Turin and after there were a couple of dramatic months in Italy and Spain, with a collapsing health situation, little by little a certain tranquility was found again, although “there is care and a Attention suggests that everything will be different, even if it has returned to normality, "said the Franco-Argentine.
-Life will be different. And Lionel Messi said soccer too. Do you agree?
-And yes because that adrenaline, that passion, that plus is missing to make one more effort in each game that the public gives you. Not only in soccer, but in sport in general. The audience is part of the game. But I think it was interesting that different leagues in European football came back with the sanitary criteria they had to adopt to give people this chance to watch football and to decompress a little.
-And in that new reality where do you think you are going to find yourself?
-I like the leadership part more, that's why I took a sports director course. Up until now, he never threw me out about being a coach. I like the political part of a club better. It is interesting to know and learn about what a balance represents, sports marketing, the economy of a club. And I'm preparing to take on a position of this magnitude.
-What can ex-players contribute to the leadership role?
-Generate greater trust between the player and a manager, since that link was always strong word and little preparation. A player to be a leader then has to learn and a leader who has to know and know to talk about football. The soccer player can manage to participate and give a much stronger word in a manager's outfit but he has to do it with preparation, discipline and understanding. In clubs, especially in property clubs, there are businesses that go beyond football.
- What opinion do you have of the corporations?
-Here most of the European teams are owned. What I see is that in the corporation you are touching the pocket both in the positive and in the negative of a business. And from my point of view the attention is much wider because the property clubs just do their business and look at their business and make their decisions because they are the ones who put the money. In the other way (in a civil association), there are marked ideologies of presidents and parallel businesses, although it is true that you can change a president every certain time and the emotional is very important. The partner's opinion is an advantage. He decides on his own account for the actions of the club at an institutional and economic level. It gives you the option to elect the president. Then sports is seen in the results. That said, I think a balance must be found. Something analog of all this type of property is the one that I have to live in Juventus with the Agnelli family. As much as it is a property club, it has a history behind it, a tradition. The rest of the biggest teams in Italy, Inter (Chinese), Rome and Milan (American), for different reasons, have been sold to foreign groups. In other words, they are not only property clubs, but the owners are of other nationalities. Therefore, the identity, belonging and identification with the love of a city are lost. Those are the values that should not be lost.
-What examples do you have of former players at the managerial level?
-Today I have close examples such as Pavel Nedved who is vice president of Juventus and Pupi Zanetti as vice president of Inter. They have a broader culture and thinking than what a soccer player represents and in that direction my goals go.
- and you want to fulfill that roll in Argentine soccer?
-That is my will and my wish. I was preparing for that. The year I was at River I already did the first course at the UCA (Universidad Católica Argentina), a FIFA course and another one on sports marketing. And now I became the sports manager given by the Spanish federation. My idea was to stay in Argentina. I would have liked to contribute that experience to give value to Argentine football, always respecting tradition and characters but giving it a more European angle. It did not happen but I still keep that idea fixed and that will to want to collaborate with South American football. In fact, with a group of people we are starting to work on an idea to implement a project in South America for the development of the social, educational aspect, especially for children who do not have the possibility of having a direction. I believe that soccer unites. The social, the educational, the high level with the low. And there is an interesting margin to develop and much to do.
Trezeguet and the ball in a talk by Conmebol. The Franco-Argentinean has a project to develop in South America. Photo: Clarín Archive.
-Even when Argentine soccer still does not have a good organization and that is very different from what you are used to in Europe?
-Yes, I read the different contents and I know how the situation is. But there is always that idea of improvement despite the difficulties and complications. It is true what you say about the disorganization that exists in Argentine football and also that the Argentine economy today is not simple. But I want to participate and give a different opinion from another angle. And I think I can contribute my experience because I have that mix of a guy who grew up in South America and played and developed in Europe.
Trezeguet x 17
1-Where was the best Trezeguet seen? At Juventus.
2-The greatest joy in soccer: The World Cup '98.
3-A disappointment: The Champions League final against Milan in 2003.
4-The goals you choose: The final against Italy Euro 2000: Juventus with which I beat Enrique Omar Sívori as top foreign scorer; and the two goals against Almirante Brown that gave him the promotion to River.
5-The best team you played for: The 2004/2005 Juventus team. Out of memory: Buffon; Semina, Thuram, Cannavaro, Zambrotta; Camoranesi, Emerson, Vieira, Nedved; Ibrahimovic and me.
6-The footballer with whom you most understood: Mauro Camoranesi. We are very friends, I love him very much.
The hug with Mauro Camoranesi after the final of the World Cup in Germany 2006. David with the shirt of the French National Team and Mauro with that of Italy. They met at Juventus, where they played together and from there they maintain a great friendship. Photo: Clarín Archive.
7-The technicians who marked you the most: In Infantiles el viejo Pérez de Platense. And professionally, Ricardo Rezza was the first to believe in me; Jean Tigana, in Monaco, gave me the chance to get to know European football. Marcello Lippi marked me in Italy. And Matías Almeyda, who taught me what River and Argentina were.
8-In which League that you did not play would you have liked to play ?: The English.
9-Referents in your position: Vieri, Inzaghi, Schevchenko, Del Piero, Batistuta, Crespo. And today Lewandowski, Suárez, Cavani, Pipa Higuaín. Few remain. Just as we lost at 10, we are losing at area number 9.
10-An idol: Diego Maradona.
11-Platense: The club in which I formed. The one who gave me the bases and who was my springboard to everything that came later in my career.
12-Monaco: The one that made me know and make the leap in Europe. It gave me the opportunity to go to the French National Team.
13-Juventus: My life. I arrived at 22 years old and left at 32. I was the top foreign scorer and the longest-running foreigner in the club.
14-River: My club as a fan. The one that gave me joy and that I could discover in a difficult moment. The passion of its people and its love. Memories I will not forget.
15-The French National Team: It gave me the chance to join a generation of gold, to be world and European champion.
16- France: The country that adopted me. Who accepted me as I was and who understood my roots.
17- Argentina: My life, my childhood, my roots, my culture, my thinking. I wish to return sometime.
MFV
