Deportivo Luján, the humble Chaco club that will change its life with the sale of Diablito Echeverri: how much money will it earn

Claudio little devil Echeverri It’s on everyone’s lips. Less than a week before he comes of age – his birthday is January 2 – the jewel of River Plate is the topic of the moment everywhere: from Núñez to London, from the English capital to the Río Negro, in Chaco.

Despite having only played four games, his transfer to the club is imminent Manchester City will be given for an amount that would exceed the 25 million euros. The English team pressed on the accelerator and preceded the rest of the suitors who were looking for the promising millionaire, who will leave on loan to the club for the whole of 2024.

But Núñez’s team is not the only one attentive to the negotiation. The place where they wait is in the Lujan Sports Clubthe place where El Diablito began to launch his first dribbles and to which a percentage of the boy’s future transfer belongs.

Regard one of those institutions that constitute the ideal of Argentine football culture. Where grazing, football and fun prevail. It belongs to the municipality of Villa Río Negro, Resistencia, located precisely on Avenida Sabín, the only asphalted road in the area. There Echeverri managed to forge his first weapons surprise strangers right from the start with the ball under their feet.

He wore the orange-green shirt that characterizes the team from six to ten years, age at which his coach at the time, Luis Costas, who still works at the club, took him with the rest of his category to a test that River was carrying out at Chaco. The attacker’s talent was immediately noticed and they did not hesitate to turn him into a millionaire player.

But before packing their bags, Luján became aware of the rough diamond they had formed. And they didn’t give up their jewel: they reached an agreement with River de retain 15% of a future sale of the Little Devil. In Núñez they went ahead and inserted a clause stating this the limit is one million dollars.

To those managers it seemed like a chimera that such a mountain of money could enter the club’s coffers and the humble reality it is going through, even if the dream is about to come true.

That’s why, from the institute which has just over 400 children and only 15 years of historyon his shoulders – he will turn 16 on January 8th -, they do not fail to keep up to date on the negotiations involving the greatest exponent of the Lujanense outbreak. And yes, the club was founded in 2008. So it is a year younger than Diablito himself. They were also born on dates close to each other. Now, both are trying to grow at the same time.

So it’s clear Emiliano Chiaramontepresident of Deportivo Luján since the beginning of 2020. “We know everything about Manchester City with the same information that everyone handles, from the media. We haven’t had any contact with River yeteven if we are also waiting for the transfer to be made official and then carry out all the necessary administrative formalities with the club”, he confirmed in conversation with Clarion.

And regarding the amount to be received, he said: “The agreement was first established with River when Claudio (Echeverri) left in 2017. He was head of the previous board of directors, both Luján and of River, where they agreed on the percentage of a future sale with a limit of about one million dollars. In 2021, with the current management, the clause has been rectified. “That was the last communication we had with River.”

-Did you think Echeverri could make the leap so quickly?

-At Chaco we were always excited to see him become a professional because we noticed that he was different. This situation was expected to come at some point. Maybe we thought it would happen later because he signed his first contract recently, but football situations sometimes lead to it being done sooner.

Talking about a million dollars means an extremely vital, and even unprecedented, economic injection for an institution like Deportivo Luján. It completely changes the daily life of a site that seeks to grow with the help of its partners and collaborators, keeping the sole objective of being able to gradually offer new conveniences.

Four hectares, acquired through expropriation In 2012, after months of training in public spaces, it is the ground on which the club’s facilities are distributed: an auxiliary 11-a-side football pitch so that the inferiors and the First team can train, orn sports beach where both handball and hockey are practiced, changing rooms andthe football fields 7 organize training competitions. The icing on the cake is that they will soon stop playing at home in a borrowed stadium and will be able to inaugurate their own pitch, already equipped with changing rooms and stands.

It’s true, the more than a billion pesos -converted into the parallel dollar- corresponding to the agreement would allow the advancement of several long-pending projects in the Resistencia team. And they won’t hesitate to take advantage of it. But without deviating from the focus go slowly but surely. “We are a young club, which has a lot to grow and tries to progress little by little. We don’t want to neglect the economy in a delicate moment like the one the country is going through. Our ultimate goal is to continue improving the property progressively offer better structures and increase the number of members”, anticipated Chiaramonte, who was a player of the Primera de Luján for five years and knows it like the back of his hand.

-What would they invest the money in?

-We will give ourselves the pleasure of realizing the things we dreamed of. For now, the future stadium is mainly missing a fence, some toilets and a stand separator, just as we need to improve the lighting system and the water network. We would take this opportunity to get a larger amount of sports elements. Furthermore, since we attach great importance to the overall growth of children, we would like to add a nutritionist and more operators to the team which today is made up of a psychologist and a social worker. Furthermore, with that money we would cover tuition and daily expenses

There, in the growth of the boys parallel to that of the club, lies the maximum premise of Deportivo Luján: instilling the values ​​of “commitment and discipline” so that they also apply to the future. “The club was born with the aim of containing kids. We are located in a large and populous neighborhood of Resistencia. That’s why we always play the role of containment by combining it with sport. Leaving a boy alone in the pasture is not the same as giving him guidance and technique”, says its president.

“The economic aspect comes after the sporting and emotional one“, phrase.

He tries to convey calm in the face of the possible change in reality that his club will undergo, the one with which he dreams that it will stop being a team fighting to stay in the tournament of the metropolitan area of ​​Chaco. “Values ​​are what matters most to us,” she adds.

In this sense, the million dollars will be an extremely responsible factor for the growth and stability of Deportivo Luján. But within that structure the passion to be close to the growth of possible future stars must be noted as a fundamental factor. This attitude was what allowed the Diablito to be forged.

-Did Echeverri’s gift have an impact on the kids at the club?

-Absolutely, you see it often. Since she broke through in South America at the beginning of the year with the Sub 17, she has been a figure for everyone. There has always been a lot of talk about him, but lately he has started to be seen as a much bigger figure. Some even already wear t-shirts and this motivates the little ones.

Such was the impact that Echeverri generated at Villa Río Negro that, added to the unforgettable financial help he would provide to his neighborhood club, There were several members who proposed that he be honored by naming the new field after him.

However, Chiaramonte clarified that “for now it is just an idea being shared because we must also take into account the founders of the club or those who have invested a lot of time in its growth”.

If there was something else missing for the children of Luján to opt for the Little Devil as the first reference It was the fact of being able to be close to him. Situation that they managed to live. The thing is After winning his second professional title, Echeverri traveled to the north of the country to visit his people, where he was received by a crowd. Even if the possibility has not yet arisen for him to visit the mountain pasture where he began to forge the dream that perhaps today he is realizing. Where now he became responsible for giving clues about the other boys’ desire.

“I’m not lucky enough to know him personally. I saw him play when I was little and it was always clear that he was different. I discovered what he does through the teachers who have contact with him. The day he arrived at Chaco they organized a party welcome for him. He’s from the neighborhood. We hope to be able to see him in the next few days at the club and get to know him”, suggests Chiaramonte.

Along the same lines, think: “Echeverri’s look is the best we’re going for. It is synonymous with talent but also with work. “The journey he has undertaken during this time demonstrates a discipline and perseverance that we always try to emphasize.”

Those years of work have paid off. Because El Diablito does not forget that not long ago he was throwing luxuries in the pastures of Chaco. This was demonstrated by making a video for the club and all its members. “I want to send my greetings to all the people of Luján, happy holidays. I love you so much”, he expressed.

Currently, the boy who has the privilege of corresponding to the only category that allowed Luján to claim the title of champion in his history, is the center of the football scene. His neighborhood club was where his dribbling caught River’s attention. He has done it again now with Manchester City in what will be a transfer of great impact that starts from Núñez and arrives at Villa Río Negro with the same force.