With its eyes full of energy, its beak open as if screaming with enthusiasm and its wings spread,
a shining Phoenix Bird draws attention to the left leg of
Jalil Elías
, the captain of the San Lorenzo pointer who knew how to rearm himself among ashes to take flight again.
"I got the tattoo on these vacations.
I liked the drawing, but it has to do with what I have had to live through,
" this 26-year-old midfielder explained to
Clarín
who, led by Ruben Darío Insua, became captain and a key piece of the tournament leader after being relegated at the start of Pedro Troglio's cycle.
The man from Rosario who came from Newell's knew how to stand out in Godoy Cruz and came to Boedo at the hands of Diego Dabove, whom he knew from the Mendoza team.
He had to go through strong turbulence dressed as a crow
and now he is enjoying his great moment that goes hand in hand with the unbeatable present of the
Ciclón
del Gallego that this Wednesday starts the road in the Argentine Cup against Sarmiento de Resistencia, in Santa Fe.
After his great goal in the neighborhood classic and the 4-0 win over Gimnasia La Plata, Elías tells the secret to the success of the Insua method and talks about what it means to be the bearer of the ribbon.
Elías, 26, went from not being a priority for Troglio to wearing the Cyclone ribbon with Gallego.
Photo: Luciano Thieberger.
-Why is this San Lorenzo pointer?
-For work and sacrifice.
Since Fernando Berón took office in the interim, important things have already begun to be noticed.
And with the arrival of Ruben we are having a wonderful moment, a dream.
We are doing a long-term job.
It is the best way to achieve important goals.
We not only dream of winning a championship, but also that the club be organized.
-There was a before and after the arrival of Insua, what is the recipe for the happiness of Gallego?
-Things can change from one day to the next.
No need to wait.
El Gallego arrived and with the coaching staff they had to be in many details.
He came across a group that wanted to get ahead.
El Gallego knows the club better than anyone, he was champion here and we are very comfortable with him.
We understand him and we know what he wants from us.
And we know that we are in San Lorenzo and that we have to take each day as if it were the last.
-You were one of those who recovered the level with Insua, did you have any particular talk with the DT?
-No, everything was given.
When he arrived, I wasn't having as much continuity even though I had just played the last few games with Troglio.
Whenever a new DT arrives, the expectation is renewed and I knew that I had to continue working hard and that the moment would come.
I gave my best in each training session.
I wasn't the only one who had an improvement, several guys have lifted since Gallego arrived and they feel good.
It goes through trust, humility and work.
That is what the Galician transmits.
We work a lot, we do very long training sessions and then that is reflected on the pitch.
We give our all in each training session as if we were playing a football game because the coach demands it.
-The soccer player is not so used to extensive practices, was it difficult to adapt to that?
-The soccer player is a bit annoying with those things, it's true.
But we are used to it.
I like to train and try to stay in line on and off the pitch.
The results begin to be seen after a long time of work.
This year we started very well, but we know that we have to go game by game.
We take each game as a final because Argentine soccer is very even.
Elías scored a great goal in the 1-1 against Huracán.Photo: Marcelo Carroll
-With Troglio you had been relegated and you could have left, what made you stay to fight for her?
-As a child, one dreams of being in a club of the greatness of San Lorenzo.
Yes, the possibility of leaving the club presented itself to me, but I dreamed of playing here and I knew that if I left it would have to be through the front door.
Today I am living a very beautiful present, but I know that I cannot relax to continue on this path.
-What did you cling to in those days when you were not a priority?
-To work and to the messages from my colleagues who told me that I was training very well and that I was going to give it up.
When I had the chance to play on the wing with Pedro (Troglio) I didn't hesitate because he had been working very well for a long time.
I knew that things were going to turn out well and that I was not going to reproach me for anything.
-Insua also used you a lot as a right winger, did you understand that you had to take advantage of that chance to get back into the team?
-Yeah.
I try to take the good examples.
I watch players from other teams.
Milton Casco in River comes to mind, that he has to do it on the left, right and sometimes even as a midfielder.
They are examples, I set out to have those same characteristics.
I have no problem playing winger, midfielder or double five.
-Were you surprised that DT has chosen you as the new captain for this year?
-I already had the experience of doing it in Godoy Cruz.
Diego Martínez had chosen me as captain.
Here in San Lorenzo I saw colleagues with the experience of Torrico and Ortigoza take the belt.
I did not expect it, but in the short or long term the work always pays.
Gattoni had been doing very well.
His situation was resolved well and the coach chose to choose me.
He asked me if he was ready and I said yes.
-What does it mean to go out on the field with the tape on your arm?
-It is a great pride, a dream I had as a boy.
Carrying the San Lorenzo ribbon means commitment, work and loyalty.
You have to take San Lorenzo to the top.
-People get excited and start singing for the championship, is San Lorenzo a candidate?
-There are 27 dates.
It is a very long tournament and there are just seven, that is, a quarter of the championship.
We go game by game, playing each one as a final.
We are doing a little better at home and away we try to improve.
In the classic with Huracán there was a very good display of attitude.
"Carrying the San Lorenzo ribbon means commitment, work and loyalty," Elías assured before Clarín.
Photo: Luciano Thieberger.
-Is the word champion prohibited in the locker room for now?
-Not prohibited, since last semester we have been saying that San Lorenzo has to win a championship this year and we are on the right track.
The club deserves to fight for important things.
-Why are they almost unbeatable at home (they won the last seven) when it was so hard for them there before?
-The environment and the context that we lived in were improving day by day.
With Insua many things were improved.
The past is behind us and today we have to talk about a very beautiful moment.
We try to enjoy it and go for more.
- Could it be that the figure of Insua took pressure off you?
-Don't know.
I remember that not many coaches wanted to come, but Gallego put his heart in and returned to the club.
Today there is much talk about Ruben, but no one remembers the moment he came.
We players see that and value it a lot.
We make every ball count on the court.
And now we dream of achieving a title.
-The challenge will be to sustain this level when the triple competition starts?
-No way.
You have to hold the level.
When we start the triple competition we will lower the loads a bit and start to rest between games.
We are prepared.
We had a tough preseason.
-Will there come a time when you have to choose the priority or do you think about going for everything?
-First we think about the championship and this Copa Argentina commitment.
We do not go further.
Then we will see how we are positioned.
The particular story of the birth of his daughter Zoe, who became a talisman
In June of last year, a rather special event occurred for Jalil Elías that had repercussions throughout the club.
His wife, Lucila, expected to give birth to his first daughter on a Tuesday, the same day that San Lorenzo was to play against Arsenal at home.
The couple wanted the birth to be a natural birth, however the plans changed and together with the obstetrician they rescheduled the date for the next day.
Thus, the midfielder was able to play and score a goal that had the corresponding dedication.
"We played during the week with Arsenal. We had a date for that day for the induced labor. If it's a natural birth you can't do anything and you have to run to the clinic. But together with my wife we postponed it for a day after the game. We gave him all the options for it to be due to childbirth, but there was no case and it finally had to be by caesarean section. I played and scored a goal and the next day I was a father," recalls Elías before
Clarín
.
The posting of the wife of the soccer player from San Lorenzo.
Photo: Instagram.
At first, confusion arose and there was no shortage of those who argued that the footballer had put the shield above the health of his baby and his wife, when this was never the case.
"It was misinterpreted a bit or I didn't make it clear as it had been," explained the now Barça captain.
Zoe was born without problems, they made her a member of the Cyclone and now she has become a talisman for the Insua team: "Since she started coming home, we always won. She was in the last seven, ha. Now she can't miss it."
