A date with history.
In this way, the commitment that Club Ciudad de Bolívar will assume when they face Independiente this Sunday, from 6:00 p.m. (TyC Sports), for the 32nd round of the Argentine Cup in La Plata, could be defined.
It will be a classic duel between the weak and the powerful.
The club that currently plays in the Federal A Tournament will face its debut in the competition and on the other side will be one of the biggest teams in the country, although its present is not so auspicious.
Undoubtedly, despite its stormy present, Independiente continues to be Independiente.
He is still the King of Cups and it is always a motivation to have him in front of him.
The Avellaneda team is, without a doubt, one of the largest institutions in the country and the continent.
In the other corner of the ring is the Club Ciudad de Bolívar.
Many may know it for being the team that Marcelo Tinelli founded
.
The famous driver and businessman, there in 2002, decided to carry out the project of a volleyball team and it went very well: eight Leagues, five ACLAV Cups, two Master Cups, a Super 8 tournament and the South American Club Championship.
The former president of San Lorenzo was the founder of his hometown team.
In 2019, however, the center of the sports project would be another.
The formation of a soccer team became the priority.
Since 2021, the former president of San Lorenzo is no longer involved in the active life of the club.
In 2020, with the pandemic that hit the world and, logically, affected football in general, everything came to a halt.
But with the return to activity and after going through amateur tournaments, in February 2021, after beating Independiente de Neuquén 3-0, the club earned the right to participate in the Federal A Tournament and be one step away from the First National.
“The club is in a new stage. For two years there has been a new Board of Directors, whose president is Pablo Tello and where there is a Football Department. This department deals with the budget, getting sponsors and investors. This project started in 2019, promotion was achieved in 2021 and we achieved this historic classification for the Copa Argentina”
, explained Sebastián Alzueta, sports coordinator for the area in dialogue with
Clarín
.
Sebastián Alzueta, sports coordinator of the Football Department of Club Ciudad de Bolívar.
An irregular 2021 in his first participation in Federal A was his baptism in a national level tournament.
But 2022 was completely different and, as they finished in third place in the South zone of the Federal Tournament, they earned the right to play the 2023 edition of the Copa Argentina.
"The objective is to continue growing, improve the campaign and try to be protagonists in Federal A. We take this Copa Argentina game as an award for the 2022 campaign. Of course, we always dream and want to continue making history", Alzueta completed
near of the way to go.
Indio Ortiz, former gymnastics coach, directs the Bolívar team.
The team, led by
Hernán Darío Ortiz
, better known as El
Indio
,
has several players with a past in the First Division on its squad.
Among them goalkeeper
Maximiliano Cavallotti
(former Argentinos Juniors, Gimnasia de Jujuy, Central Córdoba de Santiago del Estero, Ayacucho FC from Peru), defender
Facundo Quiroga
(emerged from Argentinos Juniors and passed through Estudiantes de San Luis) and midfielder
Nahuel Yeri
(former Banfield and Aldosivi, among others).
Although there are also other cases.
They are those players with a long history of promotion who, for reasons of salary or necessity, have other jobs.
In Bolívar these stories exist and Clarín went in search of them to be able to tell them.
Scorer and car wash
Alfredo Troncoso, historical top scorer for Club Ciudad de Bolívar.
Alfredo Troncoso
, historical goalscorer for Club Ciudad de Bolívar, arrived in 2019 and they have been with the club since the beginning of the project and in all seasons he was the team's top scorer.
He
has scored 26 goals in 48 games played by Federal Council Tournaments.
Beyond football,
Troncoso works in the car wash of a car agency
and throbs the duel for the Copa Argentina full of illusion.
"The match against Independiente is throbbing beautifully, both in the city and in the institution. You go down the street and people are anxious to see the game, to travel and to be there. The truth is that they take it in the best way for to be able to take the city of Bolívar to the highest level", says Troncoso.
And he dreams of a bump, even though he recognizes that it is very difficult.
"Unfortunately, Independiente is not in a good moment, but it is a First Class club and one of the five largest in the country. I still think it can take a hit, why not? We know that we are fine and everything influences the time for the games, to enter the field and you have to take advantage of the moments of each. Obviously, that the bump can take place, it has happened and it could be something beautiful", he is enthusiastic.
-Beyond soccer, do you have another job?
-I have a non-soccer job, but beyond the money, I use it to try to clear my head a bit about what soccer is.
I'm at a car dealership trying to do both.
I have time to go to train, then go back to work and every day like this until 6 in the afternoon.
I'm in the car wash at the dealership and I'm very comfortable.
The reinforcement that bets on the field
Gonzalo Urquijo told of his passion for agricultural work.
Another of those who told his story is
Gonzalo Urquijo
, a 33-year-old striker who has recently arrived at the club.
El Paisa
, as he is nicknamed,
is the all-time top scorer for Agropecuario de Carlos Casares
, with 44 goals, and he arrived at the club a few months ago.
In addition to soccer,
field work is another of his passions.
Although he is going through his first months in the Eagles, he recounted how well they received him and how quickly he was able to adapt to the group: “The truth is that these first months at the club I felt very good.
They really welcomed me and that's what's important too.
Adaptation is very important and he highly valued the day-to-day with his teammates and the coaching staff ”
And he continues:
"
It is the most important game that I will have to play. Independiente is one of the biggest teams in Argentina and for me it is something beautiful. It is a reward for all these years of career, for having played in the Promotion and for having worked for what every player always dreams of, which is to reach the top".
-How do you combine work in the field with soccer?
-All the years that I had to be in Agropecuario I was close to the field and my town and I left very often.
Now that I'm in Bolívar too.
Being able to invest in the field is something I always kept in mind for the day I have to stop playing.
To have something and that everything I did in football has not been in vain.
I think that sometimes one gives up things, leaves things and I, from that side, also thought about the day when I stop playing.
Obviously, I am not financially saved and I will not be, because one did not have the salaries that a player can earn abroad or in the First Division, but in my own way I tried to put a little of what I was earning on the field.
I really like it and enjoy it.
Archer and (former) postman
Ramiro Biscardi, a native of Bolívar, shared his time between shooting and delivering letters.
There is a case that brings together several of the most emotional points of the game.
Ramiro Biscardi
, a native of Bolívar,
was inferior to Independiente and was the goalkeeper for the promotion of the club from his city.
As if that weren't enough, at some point in his career, he dealt cards.
-What does this match against Independiente generate for you?
-Personally this game brings me nostalgia.
I was lucky to belong to Independiente in 2012 and it brings back many beautiful memories.
It was my first experience outside of my city and away from family.
It was an effort, a sacrifice and a bag full of dreams at the age of 17.
-What is your analysis of the growth of the institution?
-They called me to play the regional amateur after the pandemic.
I was in the city of Olavarría playing and working.
Together with my wife we made the decision and we returned to live here after several years of being outside the city... And, well, there we were lucky to be promoted.
So I am very happy and happy that I was given something that I had always been looking for and had been denied.
The club has grown a lot, many works have been done and are being done both on the pitch and on the grounds.
-Did you have or do you have a job apart from football?
-I distributed gas bills, I worked for an Olavarría post office, but last December, after renewing at the club, I chatted with my wife, did some calculations and told her to make an effort this year and see if I could dedicate more time to it. soccer to be better mentally and physically.
This year we are looking for beautiful and very important things.
You want to be up to the task to always give your best.
The work demanded time, demand and fatigue.
So now I'm doing this and enjoying it every day like it's my last.
A possible dream
The illusion and the desire to go to the next round are more than present.
It will not be an easy task at all.
The reality shows that, despite not having the best performance, Independiente is two categories above.
But if the Argentine Cup has a habit, it is that it goes against logic.
In this edition, Excursionistas eliminated Gimnasia, Claypole eliminated Newell's and Chaco For Ever eliminated Sarmiento.
Tied to an illusion, with the support of a people and with the desire to remain in history.
The Ciudad de Bolívar Club of the car wash and top scorer of the institution, of the postman with a past in the Independiente youth ranks, of the agricultural producer and of many other players with stories and dreams, is preparing for a match that will be difficult to forget. .
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