Maxi Moralez’s dream return to Racing: “I’m happy, I think I turned around for that”

Maximilian Moralez it will never grow. His 159 centimeters, so striking for elite football, will never change when the player from Granada Baigorria is about to turn 36. But the body does not lie and warnsthe temples and beard silvered by the snows of time denote it vial the only boyish thing is the packaging. On his return to Racing he starred in the final against Boca and almost 18 years after his debut, he won his first title at La Academia.

“The truth is something dreamed”confesses with a smile in chat with clarion in the halls of the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, in the United Arab Emirates.

What has grown is Moralez’s game. Because he is no longer that explosive and confrontational striker he saw in his first spell at the club or his successful spell at Vélez. Now he is the one who leads the team. “The older you get, the more they pull you back. I don’t think he’ll play centre-back due to his height, but who’s to tell you now that football is very dynamic”joke.

Moralit He showed Al Ain that he is a top player. When the evening turned out to be adverse for Racing due to Facundo Roncaglia’s goal, vial he rubbed the lamp and left Johan Carbonero one-on-one for 1-1. Quick, Gago’s team was only behind for a few minutes and this gave them the balance to then control the match and be able to define it with Gonzalo Piovi’s penalty at the end.

But when the game died down or Racing couldn’t find the way, it was always Moralez who broke the monotony and pulled his team out of the hole. A pass, a dribble to show the way. “We got the result we wanted in a game that was sometimes well played, sometimes fought. We controlled it well. We reacted immediately after their goal”analysed.

“I felt good and tried to give the team what the coach asked of me. I’m happy. I think I turned around for that“. The return of Moralez begins in 2005 with the debut of the hand of Guillermo el Shark Rivarola, although his most remembered moment at the club is the goal he scored against Belgrano de Córdoba in 2008, for promotion, to leave Racing in the First Division. Subsequently, Vélez, five seasons at Atalanta in Italy, León in Mexico and New York City in the US MLS.

Moralez highlights his years in Italy to train as a tactical soccer player. And he analyzes that in current football the figure of the down payment – his natural position – no longer exists. That he had to adapt to becoming an intern with a goal pass (like the one he gave to Carbonero), double five or even a winger. What has become clear in Al Ain is that he knows how to play and read the gameHe is quick to make decisions (almost always correct) and understands when to slow down and when to speed up.

In the same direction, thinks Fernando Gago, coach of the team: “Maxi’s game was very good. He has only been with us for a short time. I think the quality he has and the experience will give us that edge for this style of games. He knows how to handle the pace of the game very well”, explained before the consultation of clarion. And he added: “He’s a guy who has a lot of desire, he’s back with great enthusiasm and that in his first game back he managed to win a title is very important for him,” said the DT who is just 10 months older of the footballer he chose to reinforce a team that needed a pilot.

Moralez also showed good physicality, he endured the 95 minutes with good pace and high intensity. Experience also allows you to be smart to adjust when necessary and recover the air; or burning muscles to find spaces when the rival was vulnerable. The truth is that Racing’s best moments in the Super Cup final against Boca came when Frasquito carried the ball. All this after just a week of working with the team. Pure hierarchy to arrive, wear the shirt, play, be a figure and win his first title with the club that trained him.

Moralez’s celebration on the pitch is measured. Celebrate and smile with your mates, kiss the glass and have fun. His wife enters the field with their son and two daughters. She embraces her mate, who is two heads taller than him; she manages to reconcile with her son, who is intrigued by the medal and together they inspect it. Seeing him with his family also shows that he is no longer a kid and that a lot of water has passed under that bridge. Racing has added a figure to Argentine football.

“Enjoy this, it’s always nice to win. Add a star to the club. I think this confirms what the guys did last year, that they had an incredible year and that’s why they’re having fun now” he closes the dialogue with moralez. this newspaper before watching TV and quickly leaving for the hotel. What arrives now is dinner, the flight home and back to work to put Racing on top. Moralez returned after nearly a decade to Argentine football and in its first function it proved to be huge.

Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Special Correspondent​