Ninety-six minutes had passed in the match between Barracas Central and Estudiantes de Buenos Aires for the Copa Argentina. Ninety-six minutes and no excitement. Penalties seemed the unmistakable destination at the Ciudad de Vicente López stadium. But no. In the last seconds, when time was running out, Rodrigo Insua became the hero of El Guapo with a phenomenal free kick that resulted in the winning goal and the classification to the 16th final.
In the grandstand of the Platense court, there is a special fan that explodes when the ball hits the net of the left post. Rodrigo is the son of Ruben Darío Insua, the coach who revived San Lorenzo. He had in Barracas the chance to reinsert himself into the big football of Argentina, after his landing last January, by the hand of Rodolfo De Paoli.
But this unforgettable professional moment has a genesis that includes his father, his brother Robertino -today in the Miami United FC of the United States- and... former President Marcelo Tinelli.
Last September, a prayer with twelve words stirred a little more that agitated present of San Lorenzo. The defeat in the classic against River caused an explosion of insults from the stalls of the Nuevo Gasómetro stadium and provoked the harsh response of the 'Gallego' that, quickly, went viral.
"Sons of bitches! Why don't they Tinelli who stole everything, here?" snapped Insua and his words were clearly taken by ESPN cameras.
In the subsequent press conference, logically, the first question, logically, pointed to what he had said when leaving the field, but the coach dodged it. "I have nothing to clarify," he said. And then they asked him again if his anger was unleashed by claims towards him or the players and Insua returned to gambet as in his times as a footballer. "Now I don't remember," he said.
A year earlier, in October 2021, Insua directed Guayaquil Sport Club of Ecuador and spoke on Radio La Red about why they did not include him in the list of candidates to return to San Lorenzo, taking into account his good past with title included in the Copa Sudamericana 2002.
"Whenever the club needs it, I will be there because it is my obligation, but the current president on leave (referring to Tinelli) would not hire me because he hires coaches more qualified than me and I would not work with him," he said.
Ruben Darío Insua and his sons Robertino and Rodrigo. Photo: Andrés D'Elia
He added: "I wouldn't work with him because I don't have a good relationship, I don't want to get into it and I don't think it's time to talk about this. The issue was of a personal nature, I do not have a good concept of him as an individual. I have had the problem with him for a long time and he has it with me since he messed wrongly with someone, When there is a problem with someone you have to fix it with that person and not hit him where it hurts the most. "
Apparently, the TV host took a personal vendetta with the technical director and left without a contract his two sons who played in the Cyclone Reserve: Robertino and Rodrigo.
Days later, before the stir that the coach of the Cyclone had caused with his statements, rumoring a possible complaint from Tinelli, he ended up being more direct with his statements: "As Tinelli did not have the courage to solve personal problems with me, he grabbed it with my children and retaliated. It's cowardly. If you want to talk, put time place and day. If he wants to go to Justice, we will go to Justice."
Rodrigo, 25, then looked for new horizons in the ascent. Chacarita and Deportivo Riestra were the destinations in the First National where he got continuity and, in the last time, also goal. That good run made him land in the Guapo, to play for the first time in the Professional League.
He had to wait for his moment, because the debut came less than a month ago, when he played as a starter in the 0-0 draw against Vélez. From there he played three consecutive matches for the League (Defensa y Justicia, Banfield and Instituto, where he assisted in one of the three goals of his team).
Their fifth match was this Wednesday, in Vicente López and for Copa Argentina. In the ninety-sixth minute, a free kick on the edge of the box was the ideal invitation for Rodrigo Insua's left-footed shot. "I'm one of the kickers. I asked to do it myself because I had confidence and luckily he entered. I practice free kicks a lot," he confided, after nailing a beautiful thread against the left post.
Surely, the son of the current coach of San Lorenzo dreamed of a story being a hero with the Ciclón shirt, like his father.
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