The day after having been the figure in River's win against Godoy Cruz at the Monumental,
Lucas Beltrán
took time while resting at home to speak by phone with
Clarín
.
And in the exchange of dialogue, the 21-year-old from Cordoba (he will turn 22 on the 29th of this month) showed maturity.
He is not dizzy being the cover of newspapers and portals.
He knows that it is his time and that he has a great chance to definitely be River's 9, his dream since he came to Núñez from the Córdoba Institute when he was 15 years old.
And why not, to emulate a great friend that football gave him.
"Hopefully I can follow the path of Julián Álvarez.
I want to succeed in football and the expectations I have are very high”
, stated the striker in the talk with this newspaper.
-Enzo Pérez said that you are a player similar to Julián Álvarez. Do you also feel that you have similar characteristics?
-It may be so.
For me Julián is an example, beyond a friend
.
I learn things from him, I watch him all the time, I observe his movements, his playing characteristics.
Juli had a very big leap, the truth is that it was incredible to see him grow so much in such a short time and that he has achieved so many things.
As a friend of his, it fills me with pride and happiness.
Although Beltrán is a year younger than Álvarez, he shares several things with El Araña, with whom he has a friendship that transcends the field, as shown by the photos that they uploaded to social networks in the reunion they had at the end of the year after they Julián will become world champion with the National Team in Qatar.
Both are from Cordoba and strikers;
they lived together in the club's pension, where they met;
they formed an attacking duo in the Reserve and made their (unofficial) debut in the First Division on the same day
(September 9, 2018) in a friendly against Talleres de Córdoba at the Mario Alberto Kempes.
Julián Álvarez and Lucas Beltrán celebrate at the Monumental.
(AFP)
Four and a half years after that afternoon, Beltrán begins to transform into the player he dreamed of being when he broke nets at the La Agustina de Instituto property.
And one of those times was River's.
There, in 2015, Juanjo Borrelli saw him, who lacked a striker like Beltrán.
A "bull".
And he asked that they go look for him.
Núñez's club paid 1,200,000 pesos and Instituto kept 10 percent of the token.
At River he started in the Eighth Division in 2016 and immediately demonstrated his potential.
In fact, at the age of two he would already play in the Reserve, promoted by Luigi Villalba and at the end of 2018 he would make the jump to First Division,
in which Marcelo Gallardo made his debut
.
However, before this present, Beltrán had to row a lot, even going on loan to Colón, an opportunity he took advantage of since he stood out in the Santa Fe team and in the middle of last year he put on the red band again.
-How do you live this moment, that you find yourself at a very good level and as the team's scorer?
-Well, the truth is that well, happy, very happy at this moment with this shirt and even happier because little by little we are finding the way we work as a team and that is the main thing and what we all seek and want.
-Did you have changes in your way of working? What is the reason for this present in which you went from being the last to the first option as a striker?
-No, I didn't have any changes.
I always try to work and give my maximum in all training sessions and then the one who ends up deciding is the coach.
I try to always be available to the technician and the team when they need me.
Lucas Beltrán scored twice against Godoy Cruz.
(AFP)
-But it shouldn't be easy to prevail against two experienced players like Borja and Rondón...
-Unclear.
But I try to push myself every day in each training session.
That is a characteristic of mine.
And then there's healthy competition, not just in my position, but among everyone.
And if we're doing well, we know that the coach is going to give us the opportunity to play and that's when I have to give everything.
-What kind of striker are you?
-I feel that I am a sacrificed striker, who has a lot of mobility, who doesn't give any balls for loss, who works a lot depending on the team and who tries to do everything to help the performance to be the best.
That sacrifice is what led Beltrán to earn his place.
After a readaptation with some difficulties in his return to Núñez, he started from behind in the last preseason, already with Demichelis as coach.
To such an extent that he seemed to be fighting for a place with Flabián Londoño.
But the man from Córdoba, stubborn as he is, prevailed, thanks to hard work and goals too.
He converted Rayados de Monterrey and Vasco da Gama.
A warning of what he would live the last week, with four goals in three games, which add up to 10 officials in 50 games with the River shirt.
Beltrán did not fall for the arrival of Salomón Rondón either.
He understood the coach's decision to bring in a forward with a career that could even help him grow.
And this was recognized by Demichelis, who praised the youth striker at the last press conference:
“Beltrán never got out of the fight.
What is happening to him is a reward for his sacrifice and effort
. "
And as once happened with Fernando Cavenaghi, who asserted himself before the arrivals of Juan Esnaider and the Uruguayan Daniel Fonseca, two decades ago, today it is Beltrán who has to experience something similar.
At that time, early 2002, Lucas was just beginning to walk.
Today, he is River's top scorer and dreams of having a future similar to that of his great friend Julián Álvarez.
The profile of a goalscorer with a very strong mentality
Beltrán, figure of River before Godoy Cruz.
(AFP)
Lucas Beltrán did not get this opportunity, that of being River's "9" by chance, but rather it was the product of a continuous effort, which knew no pauses and obstinacy for a goal.
Born into a very soccer-loving family, his story began with the Corazón de María team (the school he attended) when he was 8 years old and continued at the Instituto de Córdoba, where Pablo Álvarez, a youth coach, took him. (today he works at Unión San Felipe de Chile) who was Beltrán's first coach and who also coached his brothers, Santiago ('92 category) and Federico ('93).
Lucas was so involved he was among the greats that when Federico integrated the selective of the Institute, he, small but morrudo, accompanied him and handed out the bottles of water not only to his brother and his classmates, but also to those of the First, who They trained with them.
And among those footballers was a jewel, Paulo Dybala.
Little Beltrán was very close to him since the current player for Roma and the Argentine National Team is a close friend of his brother Federico (they played together) and he even lived for a time in the Beltrán house.
And today Lucas has him as his main reference.
Like Dybala, Beltrán grew up and trained at the La Agustina de Instituto property
.
And Pablo Álvarez was responsible for him making the jump from the baby to the eleven field.
And to change his position, too, since he played as a midfielder and put him as a "9", despite some questions from Adriana, Lucas's mother, who accompanied her son with Walter, the father, everywhere.
Beltrán stood out for being very strong mentally, which later helped him leave his native capital Córdoba
to settle in the River pension, at the age of 15
.
He arrived at Núñez after scoring goals with the Instituto shirt.
Juanjo Borrelli saw it, and was amazed at it.
Beltrán celebrates one of his goals on River's tour of the United States.
EFE/ Darren Abate
The "Viking", nickname that he earned due to his complexion, began to play with River's shirt in 2016, in the Eighth division.
He went to the Seventh and almost didn't get to play in the Sixth because he jumped to the Reserve, where he made an attacking pair with Álvarez.
And the legend says that they began to run to the rival defenders after a video that Luigi Villalba, the coach of that team, showed them, which ended with laughter.
After a preseason friendly in San Jorge, Villalba made them see that they were walking back and not pressing the rival start.
"Look.
They look like two ladies who are shopping on Florida Street”
Luigi shot.
Apart from the laughter, the youths understood the concept.
And they understood that in order for them to be on Gallardo's radar and adapt to the rhythm of Primera, they had to sacrifice more on the pitch.
And when it comes to sacrifice, Beltrán did it in silence and with a lot of work.
He went to Colón and took it as an opportunity to take off.
And nine months after his return, he lives a great moment with the shirt he loves the most, the red band, on his chest.
The opinion of Enzo Pérez
"Lucas (Beltrán) has something similar to Julián (Álvarez) in how he moves outside and inside the area. Julián made his way here in River, he expected it and I think Marcelo (Gallardo) put it at the right time so that could explode and be what it is today worldwide. And Lucas, if he feels the way he has been feeling and how he has been playing, and the team accompanies him, I have no doubt that he will make his way. But I don't really like comparisons and that they blame the boys, and more so from the club. I don't want Lucas to get that backpack and responsibility for what Julián was. We have to let him continue to grow and we, the greatest , we are going to accompany him. He has a great head and knows how to listen to the advice of those around him."
The opinion of Luigi Villalba*
who are still adapting to Argentine soccer, which has another dynamic.
And Lucas is picking up that rhythm, based on goals, something essential for a striker and also to feel important.
And he still has so much more to give."
* Former River forward and Beltrán coach in the River Reserve of the Núñez club
look also
Third half: the unusual Bolivian soccer game that broke all the additional time records
A women's soccer team changed the color of their pants for a particular reason