El Diablito Echeverri and River: the jewel, the bomb, the affairs and the haters

“He’s 17”, “Brito” and “Diablito” They have become trends in the last few hours on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. It’s the fault of the algorithms, but above all of the work and grace of the thunderous “I will not renew” which he let out more than once Claudio Echeverri in the middle of River’s celebrations in Santiago del Estero for the Champions Trophy. The joy of the Olympic return, the emotion of Enzo Pérez’s farewell and even the captain’s decision or omission not to shake hands with Martín Demichelis and Javier Pinola when he was replaced by Jonatan Maidana took second place floor.

“Many things were discussed, my representative did not return calls, but they were in constant contact. I won’t renew my contract, but I will stay for six months and another year at River“said the player who will turn 18 on January 2nd and that his relationship with River will end on December 31st 2024.

The journalist on the field, incredulous, asked the question for fear that the noise of the celebrations had distorted the statements of the native of Chaco, who played his first match as a starter on Friday evening. Hand. “I will not renew”, the boy observed. And the bomb not only exploded, but sent thousands of shrapnel flying into the air.

The first reaction of the River fans, who were waiting for Enzo Pérez to lift the trophy, was their heads. They immediately insulted the air with El Diablito and his relatives as recipients. Riverine leaders have also felt the impact.

So much so that the club president Núñez, Jorge Brito, quickly exited to try to limit the damage. He said that he had not read what the boy said, but that in the meantime he had already spoken to Echeverri and his representative, Enzo Montepaone.

“I just said hello to him, he was angry about what he said, he said what he didn’t want to say. You have to understand that he is 17 years old, he has enormous potential, a great player, much loved in the team, we are just getting to know him. We have never had any problems with his representative, the human and footballing relationship with him is excellent. There are 13 months left until the contract expires, we will certainly need to define the issues involved. He wants to be successful at River and play here next year, I’ll stick with that. “His representative will defend the player’s rights and we will defend the club’s rights, I have faith in him and his representative, it must be something very good for him and very good for the club,” Brito said.

The leader’s words were not enough to calm the fire. Echeverri, like a good teenager, took the phone and posted a post on his social networks. With a smile and the cup in his hand he predicted: “Two titles and many more with this shirt. Always a river.”

His short message was fertile ground for the haters, those who traverse the virtual world without documents and believe they have the power to insult and threaten anyone who thinks otherwise. Or not even that. Useless no matter how you look at it.

Echeverri is 17 years old and not only has a long way to go and much more to learn. Sincerity, incredibly, is not a virtue in this world, much less in that of football.. He could have behaved and turned on the tape. Throw the blame on your representative and the River leaders. But he said what he felt. Maybe what he knew and what he wanted. And very little can be done about this.

You have to interpret the context. It can’t be easy being Echeverri. During his great performance at the Under-17 World Cup in Indonesia, including the hat-trick against Brazil, labels were placed on him which almost always become a burden. Comparisons with Maradona and Messi are hasty and for now exaggerated. And they are confusing.

Echeverri is a boy who has never had anything left over. And you have to understand this with your family too His rapid departure from River could be the economic passport to solve many of the problems he has and will have.. Maybe his growth needs more years at River. Maybe not. No one can put themselves in his place because no one knows what fate holds for him. And many times a bird in the hand is worth more…

Sincerity, as has been said, is a bad word in football. Naivety has worse luck. It’s not even a bad word. It’s a word that doesn’t exist. Because we’re talking about money here. The one that Diablito can win and the one that can prevent River from winning if it escapes you due to a termination clause that is lower than your expectations or, in the worst case scenario, without leaving you a penny.

This is one of those situations where everyone has their reasons to be right. Except the haters, of course, and their vocation to hurt without evaluating the price or taking responsibility for saying atrocities they would never say to your face. Echeverri is 17 years old. And whatever you do you must not endure the cowardice of anonymous anger.

This story will obviously continue.