Walking around Baires with Jorge D’Alessandro: “Dibu is an old man”, a blow to Mascherano and “old people look at me out of the corner of their eye”

“George! A photo”. Click. On the road George D’Alessandro does not go unnoticed. He has lived in Argentina for just 23 years, he has lived in Spain for 50 and the selfies they have nothing to do with his intervention The murderers From Saint Lawrencenor for the 334 games in Salamanca: no other goalkeeper has stopped so many times under the three sticks of that club. He Fatnickname that traveled with him to the Old Continent, he soon met fame as a footballer, remained a public figure as a coach and later entered the media as an analyst. In many ways, it had to be on everyone’s lips.

None of those who stop him on the street to paint his portrait have seen him play. Neither here nor there. They’re young. According to his personal statistics, on average these are 18-year-old boys. There are T-shirts with his stamp: from the classic “Tss, tss, tss” – the onomatopoeia that recalls him -, to Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández and Alexis MacAllister, “the three Ferraris”, as he baptized the Argentine midfielders for their speed, the key analyzed for the consecration of the Argentine team in Qatar 2022.

“Ehhh, hold on to the Chiringuito! photo photo”, click.

He Jugones beach barA Football controversy of the Spanish screen that is replicated on social networks, on Twitch and crosses borders, has brought him back to the heights of fame. Who is Jorge D’alessandro and why did centenarians adopt him? “Old people look at me out of the corner of their eye, they don’t like that a 73-year-old is like this, active“, he says with the Buenos Aires obelisk in the background on Corrientes street amidst a swarm of people who confirm his popularity and the age group that follows him. He is in Argentina because he came to watch the national team. Since he left in 1974 he has only returned for procedures involving duels.

To continue a conversation it is necessary to leave the place chosen for the photos and the remis is a good shelter. In a way, D’Alessandro is kind of rolling stones: Such anonymous memories are black and white and represent less than a third of his life. He studied at the San Roman Institute and had a companion there Louis Alberto Spinetta. At the same time that The skinny sang “Muchacha Ojos de Papel”, D’Alessandro trained with the Primera de San Lorenzo. Both mates Potatofamous for the Potato themeof Almond.

– How was that period?

I rarely went out at night. By seven in the morning I had to be upstairs to go on the bus to training, even though I went out sometimes. One of those times when I arrived almost during the day and I still remember my father: “Lord, is he stupid? In a little while you have to go to work, rested”. When I was 17 I was already in the first team.

-And you weren’t tempted?

-A girl at the time, who is now my wife, helped me a lot. She played hockey, she was a very good athlete. We took the bus together to go on the train. I’ve always wanted to be a footballer. In elementary school, the teachers called my parents because when they asked the pupils what they wanted to be when they grew up, I was the only one to answer: soccer player, soccer player.

When he arrived in Salamanca – the opportunity arose in a tour with San Lorenzo in which he faced the Spanish club and was the protagonist – he automatically became the undisputed goalkeeper. In its first season in the First Division, the team had the least beaten fence in the tournament.

In the moments when he doesn’t analyze the football, D’Allesandro doesn’t have the energy that takes him by storm. He doesn’t gesticulate, or pronounce sentences with his booming voice, or get angry. Lose that television vehemence. The remis enters Palermo and the conversation can continue in a bar. Bad idea: before the waiter took the order, photo parade again.

-Why didn’t you manage to settle in San Lorenzo, but did it in Salamanca?

I didn’t do anything different. It was the same, he cut the same. I had the opportunity to play for the Spanish team. I have not received calls from Argentina. Neither for 74, nor with 78 in preparation. So they call me and I didn’t hesitate. But neither could I, because I had played a South American (N de la R, the 1967 Sub 20 in Asunción). With today’s laws, I would have had no problems.

-What do you think of Emiliano Martínez?

-I love it. It’s an antique. He even has an old man face! Para well, he shits like everyone else, sober with his feet, but with some barbaric reflex.

-And what is missing from the national team after Qatar?

– Ugh. I am very concerned about the replacement. The juniors What could (Javier) Mascherano (as manager of Sub 20) pass on to the new generations! Football is played differently today. He, (Lucas) Biglia Nothing! The juniors have to win the South Americans, win the Olympics. Today I heard a journalist repeat that “this is good for the dressing room” and for this reason he should be called up. Hand! The locker room is built in another way, without telling jokes or soliciting teammates.

“You always say the post, D’alessandro! Could it be a photo?”, cl​disgust.

Apparently, the only ones who don’t want it are the fans of the real Madrid. In the networks they are tasked with proving that his coaching journey has several descents. “Do you know what happens? I was an oncologist DT: I saved several clubs from relegation, but when there are metastases it’s difficult to do it, like you do in a handful of dates?It’s justified.

That stage, which began in 1989 and continued uninterruptedly until 2004 and resumed between 2010 and 2013, gave birth to his passion in another space: communication. “I’m not a journalist, I want to clarify, I’m an analyst”points with a raised finger.

He started his media career with Jose Maria Garciaa journalist who reflects with the vehemence with which he talks about football. “He was four times the Gordo Muñoz”graphic. “And it paid well. Because she wanted the best by her side, dedicated to him. I think I made more money in that role than as a manager.”calculate.

“I watch a game and after 20 minutes I know how it’s going to end,” he boasts and assures that he perfectly understands the movements of the players, the ideas of the coaches, everything. “Once they hired Maradona for a broadcast and the one with the white hair Cóppola? He said: ‘Who is D’Alessandro? Maradona comments on his own or doesn’t comment. The same Héctor Ricardo García (N. de la R: historical owner of the Crónica) dealt with the matter and we discussed the match with Diego…”

-And where is football going?

-Well, I’m a Super League defender. Wednesday is a very important day for football, which is no longer played only on Saturdays or Sundays. I think that, without the structure we know disappearing, a tournament for the elite should appear. Let the best of the European leagues cross paths. Here it could not be done, perhaps, for a matter of distances. But there yes. The best have to play with the best.

– Is it a European thought or an idea of ​​all time?

-Always. They are Boca, River, San Lorenzo, Independiente, Racing… With all due respect, the Gimnasia de Jujuy, for example, is in another category.

In just over an hour, D’Alessandro posed for more than 20 people and answered every question with the naturalness of someone answering the hour on the street. A Gentleman.

-Is this the case in Spain too? Does not it bother you?

– It’s the same there. overwhelm me? This is a recognition in life. I am privileged