Ezequiel Cirigliano and a new opportunity in River, after his days in prison

Ezequiel Cirigliano made his River Plate debut in 2010 at the age of 18. It was a great appearance, in the club they understood that he had an incomparable talent that could make him a great figure in the future, several even came to name him as Javier Mascherano’s successor. But his life has gone in the least expected place: last year Cirigliano was jailed for 65 days for illegal possession of a weapon of war. Previously, his career had collapsed after a move to Europe where he could not demonstrate all that was expected of him. Now, as he struggled to get ahead, the millionaire called him to play Senior and surround himself with the glories of the club.

In River they knew that Cirigliano came from a complicated family background, but they could not contain it. In 2013, the footballer decided to emigrate to Hellas Verona, since his father was imprisoned in Italy. In 2015 he returned to River but ran into problems and was kicked off campus for driving under the influence and resisting authority. But last year he returned to the news for a more serious offence: he was arrested for carrying a war weapon.

In August 2022 he was arrested and spent 65 days in prison, after being the protagonist of a confusing episode, in which he was reported for alleged burglary with a firearm. It was later learned that what actually happened was that Cirigliano was carrying a weapon while arguing with a person on the street, who then called the carabinieri. This happened in the midst of a picture of severe depression and schizophrenia suffered by the midfielder after the death of his father and after he was left without a job.

Ezequiel last played professional football in March 2021, when he was in a shirt for Atlético Tucumán.

Now, River has decided to support the 31-year-old player in this difficult moment he is going through, which is why he has made the decision to integrate him into the Senior. On Monday evening he made his debut against San Lorenzo in the first round of the tournament, drawing 2-2. And Cirigliano can feel like a footballer again, since he shares a team with glories of clubs such as Ariel Ortega, Rodrigo Mora, Alejandro Domínguez, Diego Barrado, Cristian Tula or Matías Abelairas. How to believe again.