Julián Álvarez
was one of the most outstanding players of 2022. After showing a high level at River and at Manchester City, he ended up being a key player for Lionel Scaloni in winning the World Cup
in Qatar
.
This is how the praise and recognition of the player did not take long to arrive, like the constant words that his coach, Pep Guardiola, dedicates to him.
And continuing with the branch of Spanish coaches, a surprising mention came from the new DT of the Spanish National Team,
Luis de la Fuente
, who voted for the striker in the first position to be the winner of
The Best
award and this Friday ended giving his reasons.
The striking thing about this choice that Luis Enrique's successor had was that he preferred
Araña
over players like
Karim Benzema, Erling Haaland
and
Kylian Mbappé
.
In relation to this, during his first press conference in command of La Roja, he explained why he chose the attacker and partner of Lionel Messi.
"With the theme of Julián Álvarez in The Best,
I voted for him because I like him
. What am I going to say? I don't drink, he was calm, serene, I like him and he is a World Champion. Are the others World Champions? Messi yes , but Messi is the greatest, of course.
But I wanted to, I wanted to
, "said de la Fuente.
Despite having been the most recognized person to have opted for the striker in the first place, this vote was not the only one that the Cordovan player received
.
He was in seventh position with 17 points, 35 behind Messi.
First place (by 5 points) was also voted for by the coach and captain of Gabon, the coach of Botswana and a journalist from Liechtenstein;
in second place (3 points) were Lionel Scaloni, the captain of Haiti and journalists from Madagascar and Turkmenistan;
and in third (1 point) he was chosen by the coaches of Switzerland, Japan, Honduras, Liberia and Chinese Taipei, the captains of Barbados, Belarus, Burkina Faso, El Salvador, North Macedonia and Vanuatu, and the journalists of Belize, Virgin Islands , Burundi, Grenada, Jamaica, Lebanon, Malta, South Africa and Tanzania.
The accolades keep pouring in for Julián.
He, too, has already been recognized by his team by extending his contract until 2028 and now he must have his mind set on the future
Champions League
duel against
Bayern Munich
in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Luis de la Fuente awaits to make his coaching debut against Norway, after having presented the official squad list, in which Chimy Ávila has not been added.
The first call for Luis de la Fuente as Spain coach.
Photo: EFE/Juan Carlos Hidalgo.
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