March 14, 2018 is one of the dates that is most remembered in Núñez.
That day,
River
won the final of the
Argentine Super Cup
against
Boca
in Mendoza.
And for
Franco Armani
it will always be a very special day because that night at the Malvinas Argentinas he won his first title as a Millonario
footballer
.
Six years later, the man from Santa Fe won his tenth title at the club, reaching 26 in his career, establishing himself as the winningest Argentine goalkeeper in history and entering the
top five
of goalkeepers with the most titles in the world.
After lifting the
Super Cup for the third time as
River
's goalkeeper
, the first with the captain's ribbon, Armani joined a select group.
With the 26 awards of his career, he equaled
Edwin Van der Sar
, from the Netherlands, a legendary goalkeeper for Manchester United and his country's national team, but who has already hung up his gloves, and Costa Rican
Keylor Navas
, with a past at Real Madrid and current events at Paris Saint Germain.
Above Armani are the Portuguese
Vitor Baia
, who leads with 35, the German
Manuel Neuer
, who has 32, the Italian
Gianluigi Buffon
, with 28, and the Spanish
Iker Casillas
, with 27. Of all of them, the only one who follows active is Neuer, who defends the
Bayern Munich
goal .
Armani achieved this achievement thanks to the
13 titles
(Copa Libertadores, Recopa Sudamericana, six times the Colombian League, three times the Colombian Cup and twice the Superliga) that he won during his time at Atlético Nacional de Colombia, where he became an idol. of the institution,
the ten with River
(Copa Libertadores, 2 Professional League, three times the Argentine Super Cup, one Argentine Cup, 2 Champions Trophy and the South American Cup Winners' Cup) with River (7 in Marcelo Gallardo's cycle and 3 in Martín Demichelis) and the other three that he holds with the National Team: World Cup, Copa América 2021 and Finalissima.
Furthermore, with these numbers, the 37-year-old from Casilda allows himself to continue gaining a place among the most decorated Argentine footballers.
Although he is far from the first places, he has just displaced
Esteban Cambiasso
,
Javier Mascherano
and
Alfredo Di Stéfano
, who were 25. Ahead are
Lucho González
and
Carlos Tevez
, both with 29,
Ángel Di María
(33) and
Lionel Messi
( 43).
Armani has a great moment again.
And he plans to win more titles this year to continue expanding his personal showcase.
He has a contract until the end of the year with River, but his idea, in principle, is to renew it to continue standing under
“the largest arch in the world
,” as
Amadeo Carrizo
defined it .
All hugs for Armani.
Photo: Marcelo Carroll.
For “
Chili
”, as he was nicknamed when he was a boy, in his native Casilda, getting to where he is was not easy.
After not being taken into account at
Estudiantes de La Plata
and a brief stint at
Ferro
, he arrived at
Deportivo Merlo
, where he was able to achieve continuity.
In the Greater Buenos Aires Western team he was a figure in the B Metropolitana and achieved promotion to the B Nacional.
And then came a very important challenge:
Nacional de Medellín
noticed him and took him to Colombia.
However, the stay in the coffee-growing country was not easy for the Argentine goalkeeper.
He practically didn't play, he had a ligament injury and he thought his world was falling apart.
He thought about returning to the country, but he clung to his faith and began attending a church.
There he met a person who took him to speak with a medium, a fact that forever marked his life and career.
"An acquaintance took me to see a lady who was a channeler of angels. She had a connection with my deceased grandmother and told me that I was going to reach the fullness of my career when I was 30 years old. And well, it was like that,"
he acknowledged. the footballer in several interviews.
Armani, symbol of River.
Photo: EFE
That supernatural experience had a deep impact on Armani, who soon began to take over the
Atlético Nacional
goal .
He became an idol and his grandmother's prophecy came true: before reaching that age he won the
Copa Libertadores
and was considered one of the best in his position on the continent.
Then,
Marcelo Gallardo
set his eyes on him and brought him to River.
And because of his magnificent performance in the Núñez club, he landed in the National Team, with which he was world champion and of which he is still part of the squad led by
Lionel Scaloni
.
Six years after his first title in River, in that final with Boca in Mendoza, of which he was a figure for
Clarín
(with 9 points), Armani continues celebrating.
Again, a Super Cup.
The wheel continues to spin and the medals accumulate to continue making history.