Argentina seems trapped in a labyrinth. And in these times when there are not a few who believe that the way out is Ezeiza, Emiliano Terzaghi He had bet on the country.
Emerged in the lower leagues of Banfield, he played in different teams such as Boca Unidos de Corrientes, Unión de Villa Krause or Huracán Las Heras, and ended up in San Martín de Burzaco, situation that put him between football or looking for a job, like the son of a neighbor.
The pandemic has arrived, the club was not having a good time and the delay in salaries made the situation unsustainable. “It was about doing something serious or doing something else,” acknowledges the 29-year-old forward. “I had already discussed it with my wife Ornella, she put me to death, but we also had a reality that we could not deny. I couldn’t keep playing without seeing a weight, “he adds.
His father-in-law had gotten him a car and Terzaghi was beginning to put aside his scoring illusion to get the idea of ending up in remis. Until suddenly the American dream appeared to him.
There was a video of the player born in Lomas de Zamora who arrived in the hands of Darren Sawatzky, a veteran of a thousand MLS battles who had taken the reins of the Richmond Kickers, a team of the USL League One, the equivalent of the First B in Argentina. And it gave him an opportunity that Terzaghi did not miss.
In three years, the striker was three times winner of the Golden Boot and three times MVP, total record in the history of any official football competition. Pelé, Cruyff or Beckenbauer, during their experiences in the remembered NASL, could not achieve something similar. “I blush when they point it out,” he says, shy before the call Clarione.
Emiliano also he is the first player in the history of the USL to score more than 10 goals in three or more seasons. He scored 17 goals in 2022, the second highest record in a single season behind the record the Argentine himself set last year with 18 screams.
Today he remembers his arrival in the United States, far from being a red carpet. “I arrived in an apartment that was waiting for me with an armchair and a couple of chairs. I had nothing, it was cold, I was alone, ”he explains. “The second day I found out that the maintenance man for the complex was from Argentina and it was like finding an oasis in the desert. From there I built what I have achieved in these three years ”, he points out.
Some time later his wife and little daughter Josefina arrived, accompanying him in all of them. “It was very important,” the MVP acknowledges. “Having them here marked a before and after. Today we go out on the pitch together, they have a lot of fun in the stadium and they have become part of the heart of the club “, he says.
Those first cold days were the beginning of a great story. With all the chances against him, the former Banfield has entered the heart of the North American fan. Currently the field is full of shirts with the number 32 and the surname of the scorer.
“Richmond is part of our life, it’s our home,” says Terzaghi in “Emi: take a risk”the documentary interview that can be seen on YouTube with which the Kickers thank the Argentine striker for the last three years of joy.
And the “Take a chance”
Source: Clarin
