Rafael Borré: "If something very good does not come to motivate me, there will be no problems in renewing with River"

Maximiliano benozzi

10/30/2020 1:52 PM

• Clarín.com

• sports

Updated 10/30/2020 1:52 PM

It is Thursday morning and Rafael Santos Borré is in his Belgrano apartment because, unlike other days, he trains in the afternoon.

The time agreed with

to carry out the interview is sometime between 10 and 12 o'clock. And two minutes after eleven o'clock, he returns a message on WhatsApp:

.

His voice, when answering the phone, is soft, so as not to disturb little Guadalupe, who is a week old.

But at the same time that voice does not stop having the freshness of always and with the flow of the talk it will fill with energy.

These are new times for the Colombian personally due to his recent paternity.

A change of life that, with 25 years and still a long way to go, coincides with a great professional performance.

"Today I feel like I'm at my best," says the forward who is close to being the top scorer of Marcelo Gallardo's cycle at River.

-Some say that you already reached Lucas Alario, but in reality there is a goal against Colón that was against the goalkeeper (Leonardo Burián, in a 2-1 against River at the Monumental for the 2019/20 Super League).

Do you tell yourself?

-Colón's goal is unknown (laughs).

The League put it on me and I count it as mine.

In addition, we have a list of the goals of my entire career and that is written down, we have it written down there.

Anyway, I know that for some it was mine and for others not, and I understand it.

The holy cry.

I erase the goal to Colón that was actually against Leonardo Burián.

Without that goal, he has 40. With two more goals there will be no discussion and he will surpass Lucas Alario (41).

Photo: EFE / AGUSTIN MARCARIAN POOL

-In the same way, you will be like to surpass Alario and be the top scorer of the Gallardo cycle.

What generates you?

-A lot of pride.

Because what Lucas did was very important and because it has been an era in which incredible players have passed, who have had a lot of quality, experience, great renown ... And having the fortune and pride of leading this era in terms of goals is something very nice for me and it motivates me to continue growing as a player.

-You could not imagine it when you arrived at River ... 

-No, no, not by chance.

If they told me this at that moment I would have seen it as something very far away.

And much more because my game is not based only on scoring goals.

I try to be a forward who plays a lot for the team, so in those comparisons with other 9 or other forwards I feel a little different because I know that my thing is not mainly the goal.

And Marcelo knows it and has told me.

He is more interested in playing for the team than thinking only about the goal.

-What goes through your head when you remember that a few years ago you were about to leave everything, according to your wife?

-It was a hard moment.

He was not playing much at Villarreal (Atlético de Madrid had loaned him to that club, the owner of his pass after buying it from Deportivo Cali) and the winter market arrived.

And since it's short, player loans are made easy.

You can go from one place to another.

And since I didn't want to go to another team where I was going to be downgraded because I had received offers from clubs that were mid-table down or in which relegation was going to be fought, I got sick.

I wanted to have big and important challenges and I broke down because I was not achieving what I wanted.

And at that moment Anita was fundamental because she made it clear to me because of all the difficult things that had happened to get there, that there were many people who wanted to be in my place and that it was not time to give up but to continue fighting to wait for the opportunity and demonstrate what I was.

-He also said you wanted to study.

What would you have studied?

-No, nothing specific, he said about going to study something related to football, seeing it from other points of view, but they were thoughts that came to me due to the frustration I felt.

After that talk with her, I thought well and was filled with motivation to try to grow in football.

-Since you left Atlético de Madrid, did Cholo Simeone call you at some point?

-The last time I spoke with him was before coming to River and from there never again.

At that moment he was honest with me, he told me that he wanted me to have more filming.

His words helped me, it gave me a lot of peace of mind.

He also told me that he was coming to a great club, that he was going to change my life and that I know how to take advantage of it.

-And he was right ... 

-Yes.

The call from Marcelo (Gallardo) was a pivotal moment in my career because I came to a very big club to compete for very good things.

River changed my life.

And today I feel like I'm at my best.

That I am a more complete and mature player with respect to the child who came to River.

The parties also do that.

We have played difficult games, in difficult instances, and that is hardening you as a player and giving you experience to face different situations on the field of play.

That experience adds to what my teammates and Gallardo and his coaching staff help me to grow.  

-In January, in an interview we did in the preseason in San Martín de Los Andes, you said that despite the economic ups and downs, you wanted to continue living in Argentina.

Do you think the same today?

-We love living in Argentina and we are very grateful to this country.

But today, obviously, it is different and has changed a lot economically.

But what did not change is River.

I feel with the happiness of always being in this club, with the same desire to go to train, to concentrate with my teammates, to play with them.

Although some have left, such as "Chino" (Lucas Martínez Quarta), "el Pala" (Exequiel Palacios), Nacho Scocco, Juanfer, I feel that the group remains humble, calm and with that joy to face the challenges .

All of that makes life so much better.

And it also makes me have stability.

I am in love with that because stability is essential.

In the goal celebration against San Pablo in the Morumbí Borré he took the ball under his shirt to tell all of America that he would be a father.

Photo: EFE / Andre Penner / POOL

-And being a father now, can you change your gaze regarding a possible offer if there is no economic stability?

-Surely I'm going to think about it because a different factor is already added to make a decision, but that influences the family issue more.

In sports it does not change because my sports ambitions will remain the same.

I will go looking for the same path that is to continue competing for important things.

I know I am a fair and fair age to have another chance in Europe but I am not going to rush to make a decision because I am calm and happy here in River.

-Then, because of what you say, you are heading to renew with River ...

-Yes Yes.

If something very good does not come to motivate me, but something very very good, eh, there will be no problems in renewing with River.

Then there is the issue that River has to buy another percentage of my pass and that can make things difficult but we'll see.

The secrets of the team and the morbid River-Boca 

Rafael Borré continued to answer various topics.

From the approval of the AFA to the fact that River plays in the Ezeiza property, going through the secrets of the team and the new scheme, following the desire to reach the decisive instance of Copa Libertadores again until the morbidity that generates the possibility of another River-Boca final. 

-Rafael, they are going to start another tournament being local in the Ezeiza property.

Logically it is good for you because you train every day there, but during the week there was a great debate on this subject.

What reflection do you have?

-I understand people who think it may not be serious but you have to take the context into account.

The Monumental is being remodeled and there is a pandemic.

So, as our stadium is being fixed and it is played without an audience, I don't think it's bad.

In addition, in large stadiums without people, games sometimes also seem like training sessions.

-And sometimes you make the game seem like a training session because of the naturalness with which you play.

In addition, there was a six-month stoppage due to the coronavirus pandemic and in River it was almost not noticed.

The team returned very well and the great physical response drew attention.

What are the secrets?

-There is a great conviction in us.

To know that we have a strong team.

And the ideal word that defines us is constancy.

We are very constant in terms of the desire to compete, to continue growing, not to settle, to win by several goals and continue with the same mentality, and to be very demanding.

All that is built from the union of the group.

And when we returned after the stop we made it clear.

It is to congratulate the group because it was very responsible to train each one at home.

We prepared a lot and that allowed us to continue doing what we do: maintain intensity, something that is key for us.

And that comes from the coach's message, that this is what he wants and what he is betting on.

-And you came back calmer, didn't you?

You had some matches that you didn't convert into and you don't get angry like before ...

-Yes, also, also, the games are generating that maturity and that tranquility and little by little I am grasping the hand of those situations.

-Are you comfortable with the new scheme with three strikers?

Yes, because it generates many facilities for you.

Also in the attack I am accompanied by two great players like Mati (Suárez) and Juli (Álvarez), we get along well and the interesting thing is that we can constantly rotate positions.

When someone does not feel comfortable in the place where he starts due to some game circumstance, we change to feel good and attack better.

-They were very close to winning another Copa Libertadores with your goal.

Do you want a rematch of the final with Flamengo?

-We really want to reach another final.

We want to compete and do beautiful things in this Copa Libertadores and the illusion of being able to arrive and win that beautiful trophy again.

We are going to try and we are going to want to reach the final again.

-Is the River-Boca morbid tired?

-Yes, yes (laughs) ... More than anything because we already know that it generates a lot of curiosity and this will happen a lifetime.

They are two clubs that can face each other in these instances throughout history.

So being one on one side of the table in the draw and the other on the other side, there will be talk of a possible end ... And if they are on the same side, it will be seen when they can cross, if it is in quarters or semis.

That will always happen but Argentines have to be happy that they have two great exponents of South American football.

-Beyond that you enjoyed and continue to enjoy the Madrid final, do you still have the thorn for not having been able to play due to the suspension?

-I had stayed a bit there but the final with Flamengo helped me get it off.

It's that I had the dream of playing in a Copa Libertadores final and being able to help the team.

And I felt that in that final I was able to fulfill that expectation beyond the fact that obviously the result was different.

-And almost a year after that final with Flamengo, could you understand what happened to them in those final minutes or not?

-The truth, no.

As for football and the tactical part, I can't explain what happened.

And I still think that Flamengo did not do much in the game to win so much prize.

The party was controlled by us.

They weren't on us or pressuring us to convert.

They did it through isolated plays.

They are football things.

Paternity and the decision that your daughter be Argentine

Guadalupe (or "Baby G", as her mother nicknamed her when referring to her on social media) was born on October 23 at the Suizo Argentina clinic.

She is the daughter that Rafael Santos Borré had with his wife, the Colombian journalist Ana Caicedo.

The Colombian's head is no longer busy just scoring goals.

Little by little he adapts and gets used to his new role as father.

"We are getting to know and experiencing something new. We are very happy. The girl is quite calm. And thank God Anita's mother is here who is helping us a lot. She gives her a hand when I am not there," said the forward of River.

The photo that Borré and his wife, Anita Caicedo uploaded to Instagram after Guadalupe's arrival.

Photo: Instagram.

The Borré-Caicedo family continues to live in the same department of Belgrano that they have inhabited for some time.

At some point they analyzed the possibility that Guadalupe was born in Colombia but they immediately realized that they wanted her to reach the world in Buenos Aires.

"Many times we thought about being able to take Anita but then we both agreed that Guadalupe was born here. And not only because of my professional situation. We wanted to give back to Argentina something of everything it has given us. We identify a lot with Argentina and me. More wife is very grateful to this country and to this city. That is why we decided that Guadalupe be Argentine. We feel good here because of the treatment they give us, we have found very beautiful people and because we were able to have a stability that sometimes takes time to have. And we want to learn much more about this culture, "said Borré.

The baby shower between Borré and Anita Caicedo for Guadalupe.

Photo: Instagram.

-And how do you see yourself as a father?

-Well, little by little I will get used to this new life.

What I want most is to enjoy it and enjoy it a lot.

And little by little I want to instill football in her, that she has the knowledge of how beautiful she is and that she be a passionate girl.

If the mother goes out for sure, she will be very passionate about sports.

With her journalism activity, she is always aware of sports.

I hope I have something similar.

Borré and his wife, the day they announced with a video and photos that Anita was pregnant.

Photo: Instagram

-They found out they were going to be parents before the pandemic.

Did you feel fear at some point after? 

-We found out when he was concentrating to play against Estudiantes (he scored a goal).

It was a nice moment.

She felt like her period was being delayed, she got tested and that day I was surprised.

While she was at the rally, she told me that she was pregnant.

And there we were filled with enthusiasm and happiness because it was a new world that we were going to begin to know.

And in a little while the pandemic arrived and beyond the concern for all health and not being able to leave, on the other hand it allowed me to spend a lot of time with her.

His tummy was evolving and this situation of the pandemic allowed me to live the entire pregnancy with my wife and be with her in the first months that are always hard, with medical appointments, discovering sex, which are all nice things I could do. to be there because when you are traveling you cannot have that presence.

Hobbies in the pandemic and ... The Last Dance?

Rafael Borré set up a mini-gym in his department to train during the stoppage due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He added a treadmill, mats, dumbbells and weights to the stationary bike that River gave him.

He was also very attentive to his wife's pregnancy and in between they traveled to Colombia to be in Cali, together with the family.

But there was something that caught him quite a bit in that time.

"I was captivated by a Playstation game. It's called Assassin's Creed (it's a stealth, action, adventure and open world historical fiction video game) and it was recommended to me by Chino Martínez Quarta. I was trying to play that game all the quarantine. It has many stages. When I find a hole, I wear it because it gives me peace of mind, I like to play ", revealed Borré in a passage of the talk with

. 

Another thing he also did during this time was cook Colombian food.

"I made chicken breasts and cutlets, which are similar to the Milanese," he said.

And laughing, he added:

.

And they could not miss the series either.

Although, if they are long, you prefer to avoid them.

"I'm not a fan of watching a lot, but every so often I get hooked on one that they recommend to me. But as long as they are short. I don't like those that last long."

And "sports series" are among his favorites.

"I loved The Last Dance (the Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls series).

-Speaking of that, next year may be Gallardo's last dance in River or do you see him for more years at the club? 

-Marcelo has always made it clear that he is very well at the club and that he may be more years depending on how everything goes in terms of leadership and sports.

-And yours?

We will see that.

Let's see what happens from here to the end of my contract ...