How many times has Santiago Montiel put his head on the pillow and dreamed of scoring a goal in a Monumental stadium full of River fans?
Surely many, but in all of them he had the Millionaire's shirt on.
This Sunday, the left back was partially fulfilled: he scored a great goal for his current team Argentinos Juniors to rescue a 1-1 draw at the start of the Professional League Cup.
The celebration, in which he showed his number to the River Plate fans, exacerbated an old wound and a story that was reinstated in the hallways of the Núñez field.
PHOTO MARCELO CARROLL - CLARIN
Because Santiago is the cousin of the world champion Gonzalo Montiel and, like the one who converted the penalty to give the Argentine National Team the third star, he went all the way to Inferiores in River.
And when it seemed that the time for the debut in the First Division had arrived, that goal slipped away in the first months of 2022.
Even though he was not usually the starter in the Reserve led by Jonathan La Rosa, Marcelo Gallardo's brother-in-law, Montiel -category 2000- was in consideration, just behind
Felipe Salomoni
, who did make his debut with the Doll and he was projected to take the place of
Milton Casco
.
There were short circuits between Santiago Montiel and the coaching staff, with crossed accusations.
One said that they did not take him into account when making the jump, the others that the player did not comply with the basic aspects of a professional footballer when he was away from the playing fields.
Santiago Montiel, in his time as a River player.
That path, inevitably, led to the left-back not wanting to arrange the extension of his contract, which came in mid-2022, and having to train alone until he waited for an alternative for his career.
Finally, he achieved freedom of action and signed his bond with Bicho de la Paternal in February 2023 without having debuted in the Primera del Millonario.
Gabriel Milito's ear pulls
Montiel's landing in El Bicho was not easy either.
Beyond his football conditions, there was an attitudinal issue that he tried to correct with the advice of coach Gabriel Milito.
His debut was unusual:
he received two yellow cards nine minutes against Racing in February 2023
.
Later, in a match against Platense, Montiel was sent off at the end due to excessive celebration celebrating the goal in La Paternal.
😳 Gabriel Milito's challenge to Santiago Montiel, after the expulsion against Platense... pic.twitter.com/bRXKrDB6Ww
— Ataque Futbolero (@AtaqueFutbolero) June 3, 2023
Given this, his coach challenged him for his actions in the middle of the field while grabbing him by the shirt and shaking him from one side to the other.
However, Milito's advice did not have the expected effect on the young man, because a few days later he saw red as soon as the match against Independiente del Valle in Ecuador ended, an expulsion that Milito found out about in the middle of a press conference.
HOW MILITO MUST BE!
Montiel protested and Wilmar Roldán showed him the red card so he lost the round of 16.
📺 I experienced CONMEBOL #Libertadores for #StarPlusLA pic.twitter.com/hZxUStPb7v
— ESPN Fútbol Argentina (@ESPNFutbolArg) June 29, 2023
"Wasn't it yellow? Ah, it was expulsion. Poof..."
the coach sighed with a look of dismay.
And after leaving a tense silence in the room, he immediately declared:
"We will talk to Santi. What's more, I didn't think he had been expelled. He has to learn. It already happened against Platense; I thought he had learned. He repeated it today. He will have to learn. , and if not, he will suffer the consequences
. "
And invaded by discomfort, the former coach of Estudiantes de La Plata continued to make his defense public in front of the cameras.
"This is high level. He is too young to be expelled for protesting. Either he learns and changes, or he will miss the boat
," he expressed fervently about the young man, in the form of an ultimatum.
But Montiel was once again angry and saw red again in the rematch of the round of 16 against Fluminense for ironically applauding a judge's decision.
From double hooking to triple dedication
Obviously, Santiago Montiel learned.
At least he continued to be considered by Pablo Guede, Gabriel Milito's replacement, who this Sunday sent him to the field to try for equality against River, which had taken the lead due to a good finish from Colombian Miguel Borja.
THE GREAT GOAL THAT SANTIAGO MONTIEL MADE ⚽🔝
The Argentinos player made it 1-1 against River with a pure dribble and a great finish #LPFxTNTSports pic.twitter.com/nApcFPlagL
— TNT Sports Argentina (@TNTSportsAR) January 28, 2024
And a little while later, the left-hander received the ball near the crescent, made a double hook to pass between three rivals and took the shot with the inside of his left foot to overcome the resistance that Franco Armani had had until then.
It was his third goal - the other two were in the Professional League - in 47 games played in the First Division.
Montiel ran to the corner, received a hug from his teammates, and before leaving for midfield again, he grabbed his shirt, showing his number in front of the River fans.
“I have mixed emotions
,” he confessed more calmly in the post-match interview with official television.
He shouted it with soul and life, and also a little anger.
“You never imagine experiencing this, I did all the Inferior here until Reserva.
I am a fan, the celebration was due to mixed emotions of everything I went through, all the journey I took... my baby who is on the way
," he said.
"I AM A FAN OF THIS CLUB, IF THE PEOPLE AND THE PLAYERS TOOK IT WRONG, I APOLOGIZE"
Santiago Montiel spoke about his celebration of Argentinos' goal against River and recounted the previous conversation with his cousin, Gonzalo #LPFxTNTSports pic.twitter. com/8xRZz0q7Al
— TNT Sports Argentina (@TNTSportsAR) January 29, 2024
And he added with a wish, laughing:
“It was just a celebration, I am a River fan.
I apologize if people or players took it wrong.
“Gonzalo told me that he was going to watch the game, I hope he is not angry about the goal
. ”