The cases of Argentine players who are part of the diaspora of the early 2000s, and had to grow up abroad, are more and more constant.
Lorenzo Luchino
, goalkeeper recently called up to the Argentina Under 17 National Team to play the South American in Peru that begins this Friday,
is one more but, at the same time, different
.
Because the young goalkeeper, just turned 17, is
the only one who comes from European football
and the protagonist of a particular story.
The Spanish tune is noted in its first word.
And it is logical.
When he attends
Clarín
in the preview of the trip to Inca lands, the first thing he wants is to tell his career, how this call to the National Team came to him, the feeling of meeting the world champions in Qatar 2022 and many other things.
Generally, in youth teams it is not very common for there to be players who play abroad. In fact, he is the only one of the 23 called up by Diego Placente who has this condition.
Although they are older in age,
Nicolás Paz
and
Alejandro Garnacho
could be recent antecedents of players who have the possibility of opting for the Spanish National Team, but all guns would point to them wearing light blue and white.
The most recent antecedent of a player who has played a South American Under 17 while abroad is that of
Benjamín Garré
, grandson of Oscar Garré, world champion with the Argentine National Team in 1986. In 2017, Garré was a member of Manchester City and was cited for the youth tournament that took place in Chile.
But let's go back to Luchino, category 2006 goalkeeper. He was born in Córdoba, more precisely in Río Cuarto, and for a few years he has been living in Europe with his family.
His first steps were
Estudiantes de Río Cuarto
-the club from which
Pablo Aimar
emerged- , but
for work reasons his parents decided to go to work abroad
.
"I spent 4 or 5 years at Estudiantes de Río Cuarto and I started as a goalkeeper. I didn't go to Spain for football reasons. In Spain I started playing in academies and small clubs. At first it was like going on vacation and coming back, but at 8 or 9 years I went to live permanently",
he explained.
Lucino with his parents.
Despite having already been summoned on other occasions, this opportunity inflated his chest, filled him with happiness, but also surprised him.
He somehow knew that he was on the radar, although he did not imagine the call for the South American tournament.
“It took me a bit by surprise because obviously you don't expect something that big.
I was having a good run at Sevilla and, suddenly, there was a summons and a call.
I found out and it was very nice
," he said between smiles.
On the eve of his debut, this Friday against Venezuela, he expressed that he was very well received both by his teammates and by the coaching staff headed by Diego Placente.
"They received me great. I think they couldn't have received me better. I expected it to be a little more brave, but my teammates and the coaching staff were ten. They greeted me very well, they welcomed me, it was great"
, express.
On the other hand, he affirmed that the preparation has been very good and stressed that Placente is in charge of giving the group confidence: "Diego Placente and the coaching staff are giving us confidence to play and a lot of encouragement to the group. We are eager to play and start with everything".
As a boy, Luchino defended the colors of Estudiantes de Río Cuarto.
His arrival at Seville dates from a few months ago.
Before, he wandered around some amateur clubs and was in Puerto Malagueño, which, according to him, is one of the biggest teams in Malaga.
But, despite the short time he has been with the Sevilla team, he already had some contact with the first team and, in fact, had the chance to share training sessions with other Argentine players:.
“I already had about 4 or 5 training sessions with the first one and I didn't expect it either. When I went there were Papu Gómez, Lamela, Acuña, Ocampos, Isco. The truth is that it was great
," he said.
Obviously, his goals are to be able to debut in Seville and to reach the goal of the Argentine National Team, but he is aware that he is taking his first steps and that he has a long way to go.
“
My goals, like every boy, is to debut with the Argentine National Team and first with Sevilla.
Hopefully it will be given to me.
Obviously, I am very young and I have a long career left, but the truth would be beautiful”
, he revealed.
But the possibility of a call for the Spanish team also appears on the horizon.
Although his posture seems to be aligned with his dream.
-Did they call you from Spain?
-No, not yet.
-In any case, is the dream to tackle for the Argentine National Team?
-Obviously, I don't really change it for anything.
My classmates always jokingly asked if I preferred Spain or Argentina, but since I was a kid I always said that I would choose Argentina because my parents raised me that way.
A sample of the feeling he has for Argentina was reflected in how he experienced the coronation of the team led by Lionel Scaloni in Qatari lands.
"It was beautiful.
He yelled it as if he were in Argentina.
There was another Argentine and we were very happy, ”he recounted the way in which he experienced obtaining the third star.
The Under 17s were able to take a photo with Lionel Messi.
(@Argentina)
To get to know him a little more about his style, it is necessary to know that he has a great bearing, since he measures 1.90, and that he defined that "one-on-one" is his greatest strength under the three sticks.
His greatest reference in the position is Yassine Bounou, the Sevilla goalkeeper, but when he was consulted by an Argentine goalkeeper, he did not hesitate.
"Dibu Martínez is, obviously, my Argentine benchmark."
Many times speeding up the processes ends, as they say in soccer jargon, burning the youngest.
That is why Luchino's evolution must be carried out little by little and aware that he still has many experiences to go through.
A priori, the South American will be the first competition that he plays with the Argentine National Team and, therefore, the first opportunity that he will have to show himself to the fans.
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