On the day of his 24th birthday,
Julián Álvarez
has an endless number of glasses with which to celebrate during the toast.
And he is still going for more.
Being a key piece in the forward line of
Pep
Guardiola 's
Manchester City
while forging his name in the demanding Premier League, El
Araña
spoke about the outstanding present he is going through, the future arrival of
Diablito
Echeverri
as a teammate and the possibility of facing
River
in the short term.
With
14 titles
in his still short career, highlighting the brand new Club World Cup and the
treble
achieved with City (Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup), without forgetting the World Cup in Qatar, Julián does not lose the desire to continue winning medals.
"
You always imagine or have your dreams or objectives
. The first thing was to adapt to Manchester City and live up to it, then the World Cup and the same thing. I am very happy and proud," he analyzed in an interview with
Goal
.
The one born in the Cordoba town of Calchín did not know the typical adaptation time that is usually needed when landing on the
Old Continent
and has already scored 30 goals since his arrival in England.
To the point that he became someone fundamental within coach Josep Guardiola's scheme, where both enjoyed each other and were able to form a "good relationship."
"
Pep is one of the best
. I always admired him a lot, I grew up watching Messi's Barça with Pep as coach and I always admired what he was achieving.
Having him as a coach is a privilege
," confessed the forward, who continually receives praise from his coach.
And about his beginnings, he said: "Obviously I knew that it was my first season and that the team was doing very well, so I always tried to take advantage of the minutes I had and that was the case."
Julián, one of the figures of Guardiola's Manchester City.
Photo: Paul ELLIS / AFP.
Even this season, given his qualities to perform as a second striker, the world champion had the opportunity to form a fearsome attacking duo on several occasions with none other than
Erling Haaland
.
"I think we have shown that together we can do very good things to help the team,
it shows on the field, but the statistics also show it
in terms of goals and assists
," he explained.
"I always say that playing with the best players makes you better. Erling is one of them
," he continued.
Within the squad, at the end of the year the arrival of
Claudio Echeverri
as reinforcement is confirmed.
He will be a new Argentine to join and he will do it in the same way as Julián: disembarking directly from River.
That is why Álvarez did not miss the opportunity to refer to his future teammate:
"Although he has not played many games with River yet, I have seen it. He has many conditions and a lot of future ahead of him. I wish him the best
. "
El Diablito will extend the extensive list of Argentine players with a past at Manchester City, starting from examples such as Sergio Agüero and Carlos Tevez.
"There have been many players who have succeeded here and have done very important things
," explains Julián, explaining that this issue prompted him to choose the English team as the ideal place to write his story in Europe.
"Being in Argentina, I saw it as one of the best clubs in the world in recent years. When I discovered that they were interested in me, I never doubted
. "
Haaland and Julián, a duo that excites Manchester City fans.
Photo: AP/Dave Thompson.
Likewise,
Araña cannot avoid referring to River
when it is his turn to talk about the club's current affairs and the continuous young promises it promotes.
"That kids who we have shared in youth teams can go out and have a successful career makes me very happy.
As a River fan I hope that kids continue to come out and the club wins titles
, "
said the
La Scaloneta
forward .
In that sense is how the consultation about a possible crossing against
River
wearing the City shirt was born.
In what context would you like it?
In the new Club Super World Cup
, no less.
"
As a fan I wish River the best and I always hope he does well, so it would be great for us to meet there
," he admitted.
In addition, he took advantage of the situation to remember his two participations in the Club World Cup, with River in 2018 and a few months ago with the
Cityzens
, when he managed to leave his mark by scoring and beating Fluminense in the final.
"We couldn't win in 2018, so I saw it as an opportunity for revenge and a title that City didn't have. Helping the team with two goals was beautiful, something we will never forget. And something historic for the club," he said.
Julián against Fluminense in the Club World Cup final.
Photo: EFE/EPA/ALI HAIDER
But like Julián's mentality, Guardiola and company's line of thinking remains firm:
we must continue winning
.
And what better than repeating last season's triplet.
"
I think we can achieve it
," said the recently turned 24-year-old from Córdoba.
And he stated: "In the last months of the season we are fighting for all the competitions, we are doing well as a group and I think we can do it."