Several candidates in different country markets have indicated Luca Gabriel Merolla in their notebooks. For the moment, the intentions have never gone beyond that. This time, however, the captain of the Huracán seems to have found a destination far from Parque Patricios, even if not so far away: the mouth pretends to cover the void left by Marcos Rojo’s injury and Carlos Zambrano’s sacking.
Last season, Merolla started and wore the captain’s ribbon in 22 of his side’s 27 games in the Lega Professionisti and was one of the bulwarks of Diego Dabove’s squad that finished fourth in the tournament. To reach this luminous present, the 27-year-old left-footed defender had to fret and look for minutes in promotion Before you get the chance Balloon.
The defender trained in the lower divisions of Huracán (after playing baby soccer at Nueva Chicago), but before making his debut he was loaned to Sports Spanish in July 2016 to participate in the Primera B tournament. His first was on August 28, 2016 in the 1-0 victory of the team led by Luis Islas over Defensores de Belgrano in Bajo Flores.
After that season in the third tier of Argentine football, in which he played 36 games and scored three goals, he went up a step: he went to Guillermo Brown of Puerto Madrynalways on loan. He started 21 of the 24 matches that the Chubutense team played in the Primera B Nacional and also in the clash against Boca which they lost 1-0 in Mendoza for the round of 16 of the Argentina Cup.
After that experience in Patagonia, he returned to Huracán to be part of the professional staff, although during the first semester Gustavo Alfaro did not give him opportunities. Only on March 10, 2019 and with Antonio Mohamed as coach was he able to play his first match in Primera del Balloon: It was in the 3-1 defeat against San Martín de Tucumán for the 22nd round of the Super League.
That evening, Mohamed decided to present a lineup made up mainly of footballers who usually weren’t starters because Huracán were playing in the Copa Libertadores at the same time. Merolla, already 23, started and couldn’t do much to avoid his side’s fourth consecutive defeat and eighth in 13 appearances that year.
Now without Mohamed and with Nestore Apuzzo before and israel damonte he later established himself as a regular. For the last three years he has been a fixture in defense, also supported by frank kudelka and from Diego Dabove, which also gave him the captain’s ribbon in the last tournament. The only unwanted break, which lasted six months, occurred following a fracture to the middle third of the left tibia that he suffered on 20 October 2021 in a match with Banfield.
The fifth minute of added time was played and the Balloon won 3-1 at Florencio Sola for the 17th round of Lega Professionisti when Merolla went looking for a ball on the left wing. Mauricio Cuero, at full speed, anticipates it and the defender, in his late attempt to repel, hits the Colombian and takes the brunt of the impact. He was carried away on a stretcher and in tears. All two days before the birth of his partner and four days before a classic against San Lorenzo.
“(When I was) lying on the floor, I already knew it was broken. I told the line what was happening to me, I felt that the tibia had played, I could not support, I felt that the bone was broken, ”Merolla said after the injury. And he acknowledged his responsibility in the action: “ I trusted myself. I had forgotten that Cuero had just come in and was in full force. Then he texted me, he felt bad, but I told him it was nothing to do with it, that I was the culprit”.
Recovery has been slow. Most recently competed again on April 8, 2022 in a reserve match the team led by Claudio Cabrera beat Barracas Central in La Quemita 5-0. He scored a header that morning. A week later, he returned to the First Division in a 2–1 defeat of Tigre at the José Dellagiovanna stadium for the 10th round of the League Cup.
With that injury turned into just an unpleasant memory and as he’s having the best time of his career, Merolla seems destined to wear the blue-yellow colors in the tournament that will start this Friday. What could I bring to Boca? Excellent passing game, physical strength, speed and excellent footwork despite his height (1.94 meters).
The transfer of the defender, whose contract with Huracán expires on 30 June this year, could be facilitated because The Parque Patricios club still owes Boca around $500,000 for the passage of Franco Cristaldo, who has already left the Balloon and went to Brazil in December to play for Gremio.
So he explained it this Thursday Juan Roman Riquelme, confident that the negotiation would take place. “I have an excellent relationship with the president and vice president of Huracán, we will see how to reach an agreement. The guy said he really wanted to be in our club, he’s thrilled. We will see if we can agree on everything and if Huracán will also end up happy, which is the most important thing,” said Vice President Xeneize.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.