Oscar barnade
05/18/2021 9:49 AM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 05/18/2021 9:49 AM
One of the first lessons of journalism schools and colleges in Argentina and around the world is that if a dog bites a man it is not news, but if the opposite happens it is, so unheard of.
River does not have goalkeepers to face the Copa Libertadores game on Wednesday against Independiente Santa Fe
.
And with 25 confirmed cases of Covid-19 (between players and coaching staff), it does not reach 11 headlines either.
If the match is confirmed and the impossibility of adding the youthful goalkeeper Alan Leonardo Díaz to the list, it is very likely that Milton Casco will be the One millionaire.
In history there are many cases of footballers who put on the diver due to injury or expulsion of a goalkeeper.
In the centennial history of River there were 17,
the last Martín Demichelis on April 28, 2002 against Racing, after the red to Angel David Comizzo
.
The list continues with the remembered cases of improvised footballers as goalkeepers who also saved penalties, such as Diego Torres from Arsenal (the only case in Libertadores), Agustín Pelletieri in Racing, Adrián Bastía in Rafaela, David Bisconti in Central, Oscar López Turitich in Platense, Chango Juan Carlos Cárdenas in Racing or Julio Nuin in River, back in 1959.
#RACING tonight faces # SanMartín de #SanJuan for #CopaArgentina and we remember the penalty saved by Agustín #PELLETIERI in the #Cilindro.
Big Octopus!
💙👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/fTJRxtQyQJ
- Data Racing 👑 (@DataRacingOK) April 14, 2021
Memory also recalls goalkeepers who tried to play in other positions, generally forwards, such as Loco Hugo Orlando Gatti, Gato Alfredo Anhielo or Mexican Jorge Campos.
But from minute zero, the search for antecedents in official Argentine or international football is more complex.
Did the man ever bite the dog? It was the great unknown.
And the cases, forgotten in the trunk of memories, gathered in a book or in an old newspaper article, appear.
It was told by Marcelo Petrone, co-author along with Marcelo Baffa and Gastón Milone of the book La historia de River
el grande in anecdotes and statistics, in a note published by colleague Ariel Cristófalo in the sports newspaper Olé.
Julio José Abaca Gómez
could play as a forward but also in the middle.
In 1907 he played for
Nacional de Adrogué in
the Second Division final against River and the following year he achieved promotion to the First Division, a category in which he played 7 official matches.
He went to the goal in the first of them, coinciding with the debut of the club in the superior division,
on May 2, 1909 against Argentino de Quilmes
.
He kept the fence undefeated because his team thrashed 5-0.
River debut in First Division: 5-0 to Argentino de Quilmes (Diario La Argentina, May 3, 1909)
The starting goalkeeper was Alejandro Luraschi, who had also been absent in the previous friendly, played on April 25 against Porteño (5-1).
And on the second date, May 9, as only 8
players
showed up
to play the match with Reformer, the captain of the team played and gave up the points.
River collected 8 and preferred not to play against Reformer (Diario La Argentina, May 10, 1909)
Finally, on May 16, against Estudiantes (3-0), Luraschi saved again and Abaca Gómez played as a left half.
None of the chronicles of the newspaper La Argentina consulted mentions the reasons for the absence of the goalkeeper and the particularity of the change of position, something that was actually taken normally despite being an exception.
On the other hand, in the chronicle of this victory against the club,
Abaca Gómez is accused of always trying to dribble
.
"Along these lines, harmony would be greater if Abaca Gómez left that game of small deceptions that, with the ball at his feet, plot against his opponent," says the newspaper La Argentina.
The dribble, ours, in version 1909 and with a millionaire gene.
Comment on Abaca Gómez (Diario La Argentina, May 17, 1909).
There are at least two other cases in First Division football in Argentina.
One was rescued by the memory of Ricardo Gorosito, a member of the Center for Research on the History of Soccer (CIHF).
In the 1940 tournament, the three archers that Rosario Central had were injured
: Pedro Araiz, Héctor Ricardo and Juan Martínez.
That is why on the 30th date, disputed on November 24,
Ignacio Díaz
, usually a central marker, went to goal against Estudiantes in La Plata, who won 1-0 with a goal from Juan Negri.
Negri's goal play against Díaz (Diario El Mundo, November 25, 1940)
The comment of the newspaper El Mundo describes the play of the goal and another subsequent intervention by the improvised goalkeeper of Central, but does not highlight the particularity of the situation.
Ignacio Díaz and the unique case (La Cancha Magazine, December 4, 1940)
On the other hand, the magazine La Cancha highlighted the situation and titled:
"A unique case in football is that of Ignacio Díaz
.
"
In the one-page article, he described the public's astonishment at the novelty.
And the comment of the fans: “
Ignacio Díaz, goalkeeper ...?
Poor thing, how many goals will he have 'eaten' ... ”.
The curious fact, at the end of the 30s, attracted the attention of a journalistic medium.
A man had bitten a dog.
The story of Ignacio Díaz in the arch (La cancha Magazine, November 1940)
The other case is from the 70s and the protagonist is a player who went from Alvarado to Aldosivi de Mar del Plata in 1976 to play the old national tournaments as a central marker.
It is about
Horacio Stringa
and his story was rescued by Víctor Molinero in the newspaper La Capital de Mar del Plata.
The defender played seven games as a starter and after an injury in a friendly with Boca, he began to go to the bench as a substitute goalkeeper for formal reasons.
The owner of the Shark was Jorge Riolfo, who had been injured.
Substitute Ricardo Yori began to tackle and as third goalkeeper Juan Carlos García fought with coach Roberto Saba, they needed a “12” just in case.
And while Stringa recovered from the injury, he accompanied the team.
With three dates missing, Yori was injured and Stringa did not hesitate to accept the proposal to go to goal.
Horacio Stringa as the central marker for Aldosivi in a friendly against Boca in 1976. (Photo, The Capital of Mar del Plata)
“It was almost by chance, out of necessity.
But the bow was always what I liked.
I was passionate about the bow.
In all the schools where he was, he always practiced for a while just in case.
You never know when something can happen in a match with the goalkeeper and someone has to be ready, ”Stringa recalled in that July 2020 note. He also said that his beginnings were as a goalkeeper although later he had consolidated as a central marker.
Stringa saved the last three official matches of the 1976 Nacional: 2-3 with Rosario Central (Roberto Rogel, head, beat him for the first time), 0-0 with Vélez and 2-1 against Platense.
Nothing bad.
Horacio Stringa, starting goalkeeper in Aldosivi in 1976. (Photo: The Capital of Mar del Plata)
The case of that River Wednesday will be even more exceptional than all the previous ones.
Again, the man will bite a dog.
