Marcelo Gallardo, the key factor in the formation of Julián Álvarez and Enzo Fernández

The irruption of Giuliano Alvarez Y Enzo Fernández in the Argentine national team he can surprise many unwary but it is not accidental. Even if we understand that these are 22 and 21 year olds who are making their first experiences with the Argentine shirt, the Manchester City forward and Benfica midfielder in Portugal is already a reality.

And both, strengthened by a great football present, entered the starting team on the basis of their great performances, confirmed in the 2-0 victory over Poland, in which Álvarez scored a goal, with assistance from Fernández.

To understand this present of both players, we need to go back in time. And talk about their lineups. And a key man appears in this story: Marcellus Gallardo.

El Muñeco, in one of his many press conferences, made it clear the contribution of his technical staff and the River to the realization of these boys.

“They deserve these situations to happen to them. Next, it is argued that growth continues to develop and that is good for them and good for us. We are a training team. We will not be looking for selected players. We are not a selection. We are a training team that tries to empower the players so that they become a good team and later on those players can become national team players. It is good to take this into account and know its values”Gallardo said on Nov. 7, 2021.

In that answer given by the former River coach, he emphasized the phrase “We are a training team.”

And that formation means that in the Argentine squad there are seven players (in addition to Álvarez and Fernández, there are also Franco Armani, Gonzalo Montiel, Germán Pezzella, Guido Rodríguez and Exequiel Palacios) who have worked with him and who today Álvarez and Fernández win the capital letters of all newspapers and portals.

The training of these footballers also includes the River school, since -except Armani-, the rest They grew up at Núñez’s club from an early age and later grew up in the First Division with Gallardo as manager.

In Álvarez’s case, his arrival occurred as a teenager. Recruiter Alfredo Alonso saw little Julián in Córdoba, who, due to his shyness and introverted nature, had difficulty staying in a club in Buenos Aires. And in 2015, he recommended it to Gabriel Rodríguez (River’s junior coordinator at the time), who as soon as he saw it, signed it instantly.

The “Spider” began to realize the dream of playing in the club of his loves. And Juan José Borrelli, the first coach who managed him in the Inferiore, and Facundo Villalba, who promoted him to the Reserve immediately after, had a lot to do in his development. Juanjo began to perfect Julián’s game based on the freedom it gave him to play, his offensive style and the learning it gave him in managing profiles. And Luigi made him work on pressing to recover the ball and participate more in the game.

El Muñeco followed Julián’s growth and soon led him to the First Division. “It’s a pleasure to coach guys like Julián,” he once said. Is that Álvarez is very applied and absorbs concepts quickly. And he is always willing to know more. With the doll he added aggression to his game and the rhythm of the Primera reach the explosion.

Scaloni takes him to the America’s Cup. Julián earned his place in the squad and when some doubted that he would make the World Cup roster, the national team’s coaching staff made it clear that he was into him. Much more after going to Manchester City and quickly adapting to Pep Guardiola’s team.

Enzo Fernández’s link with River, on the other hand, it comes from the cradle. And not only because both he and his family are River fans, but because he started having contact with the ball in Núñez in Infantiles, while they already saw different things in the baby soccer club La Recova de San Martín.

At just 5 years old, Enzo started to amaze everyone who saw him. And one of them was Pablo Esquivel, a River recruiter who immediately informed Gabriel Rodríguez and Luis Pereyra of Fernández’s existence in order to bring him to the club. And having convinced the parents, they quickly added and formed it.

In Infantiles he always played but in the Ninth division he was a substitute. And he thought they would release him. So, Esquivel advised him to change his training and his eating habits. He started working a double shift and clicked there. In the eighth he had Tapón Gordillo as coach, who gave him more space and trusted him.

What followed was pure growth. When he was in Settimo, Villalba was dazzled and took him to the Reserve. A few weeks later, after seeing him in action with the older ones, Gallardo took him to training with Primera and called him up for the first time. He put him on the substitute bench in a 3-1 defeat against Patronato in early 2019.

A year later, Enzo went to Paraguay with the Reserve to play the Libertadores Sub 20. There he was one of River’s great figures. When he returned he got on another plane, this time to travel to Quito and play the other Copa Libertadores, the First Division. Gallardo sent him on in the defeat against La Liga de Quito for the first round of the group stage. And there he made his debut.

However, in his position he had Leonardo Ponzio, Enzo Pérez, Bruno Zuculini and Santiago Sosa ahead of him. Therefore, He accepted the idea of ​​going on loan to Defensa y Justicia to add minutes in the First Division. And there he grew even more, especially with Hernán Crespo – another with a school in River – as coach. He won the Copa Sudamericana and the Recopa. And he went back to River.

In a couple of months, he earned the title after the injury of Nicolás De La Cruz. He was champion. And he has shown the personality to be part of the main cast and at times even take charge of the team. Just a year after his return, he was signed by Benfica.

He had been called up to the national team at the end of last year. And the possibility was latent. Scaloni gave it to him on tour in the United States and he didn’t miss it. Now, He is already a regular in the Argentina team.

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