The photo or the film. They will choose the fans of River when the tribute to the world champions who wore the club’s shirt takes place. In the photo the one of the failed presidency stands out who sent River to B, perhaps the only one that matters for the younger generation. But that photo also accompanies others, hundreds, thousands, of his time as a footballer. What do we do with Passarella?

River went to B because Passarella mismanaged the choice of coaches and the composition of some teams. But really, River it began to descend much earlier. The day when at a meeting of the Executive Committee asked for the resignation of Giulio Grondona to the presidency of AFA. I have been convicted. It mitigates but does not eliminate its liability.

“It’s a crack, but it has problems crossing to the right”, warned Osvaldo Ardizzone one sunny afternoon in Monumental when Passarella was just making himself known. Ardizzone was right. Passarella was able to partially correct that defect of being so left-handed because he learned to position himself on the pitch. I was left handed against the hand. He was born straight and broke that leg when he was almost a child and out of sheer stubbornness, even at that age, he took the trouble to master his left leg. Is that what resilience is called, love for yourself? It does not matter.

“The best defender in the history of Argentine football and one of the five in the world,” the veteran journalist said this week. Cherquis Bialo. It’s an authorized entry. And it matches. And that had competition in the 6 position. Here are some of the ones I’ve seen: Federico Sacchi, Rafael Albrecht, Raúl Madero, Enzo Trossero, Roberto Rogel, Pancho Sa (which was also 2 and also lateral) and that the list follows the taste of the reader. You will be hard pressed to find many more that had those levels and with such different styles. Borders outside, of the most contemporary, who? beckenbauerObviously, Baresi, Koeman, Bobby Moore, Cococho Alvarez, Orlando Pecanha and some looser ones out there that memory won’t release. Today? Van Dijk, De Ligt, Marquinhos, Upamecano, Gvardiol and then we should evaluate how much marketing influences transforming excellent footballers into crack. And nothing more. It is insisted, it is a subjective list, the discrepancy is accepted, from now on and also the fierce discussion if I write that Lisandro Martínez and even the very young Valentine Gomezthe boy from Velez, “they have things” from Passarella.

Even so, the footballer Passarella is above all. As Cherquis says.

Watch Passarella play afraid. A simple exercise of putting yourself in the shoes of the rival number 9 or the winger who dared to cross or a swaggering midfielder who invaded his area of ​​influence provoked a certainty and a sensation: it won’t happen. It breaks everything.

Passarella was bad. evil of evil. He put it on you without blushing and sometimes he crossed the finish line like when he put that sneaky Uruguayan elbow Jorge Gonzalez or when he kicked an Italian ball taker because he took a long time kicking him to get the game back. She speaks. It’s a lot. To rivals, referees and teammates. Until perfume never received a complaint. “Don’t lift your legs,” he yelled Ramon Diaz, fearful of the opponent Passarellas. They never took it prepo. He lost, of course. They danced to it sometimes, of course (Remember the 3-0 of Boca alla Bombonera).

And he won. He won a lot: 7 local championships at River, one in Serie A in the two years he spent at Inter after four seasons at Fiorentina. The only Argentine twice world champion, beyond the affair of ’86 to which Argentina qualified thanks to his extraordinary play against Peru in qualifying so that race He will score the 2-2 that the pass gave. Without Passarella it would not have existed The hand of God and the second by Diego English-style or world champion Billiard. He is the highest scoring home defender in history with 99 goals in 298 games. They are also stills from the film.

Was a gesture of greatness this River directive, the continuity of the one that lifted the club from the sporting shame of playing the B Nacional. Inviting him to the Sunday giveaway is a message to the fans, perhaps also an act of internal peace and revenge of one of the greatest footballers born in these lands. You must not lose sight of it.

He great captain He has won and lost battles. She tells a film that has thousands of photos. Sanitary walkway.