From child tennis champion to Demichelis’ big gamble: the unique story of left-handed Franco Mastantuono, the new jewel of River

River youth football managers carried out a test Blueland of Matias Almeyda, one of the prodigal sons of the institution. A little blonde, just eight years old, with the ball stuck in her left hand, drove everyone crazy. She was Franco Mastantuono. The new jewel of the Núñez club who, at 16, after having played an excellent pre-season in the United States, asks to be able to play in the First Division.

Mastantuono’s path was not linear. The thing is He did not start playing for River immediately after that home test. First, the boy didn’t want to go into retirement, which meant moving away from family and friends and being uprooted. And secondly because little Franco played another sport: played tennis.

Those who know him best say he was very good with the racket. And there’s that to prove it He was in the top five in the U-12 national rankings.

A lot of time had already passed since the test with River and Franco was still playing tennis. In any case, in Núñez they did not stand still. And he appeared in action Gabriele Rodriguez, the historic coordinator of Inferiores who discovered and signed many talents in the club. And he convinced him.

“Mastantuono was a childhood tennis champion in Argentina. He wasn’t entirely convinced about football, but luckily, living in the club’s guesthouse and attending matches, he was convinced to stay with us,” says Rodríguez, now coordinator of the Childhood Department. Clarion.

The arrival in Núñez and the transfer to River House of this young man who everyone in the club indicates as one of the team’s greatest promises on the pitch Claudio Echeverri (a higher category), which occurred in 2019.

His footballing qualities seemed tailor-made for the River Plate school: left-footed, trained like a classic hitter but with technical and tactical versatility to move as a midfielder or in different central positions, dribbler and equipped with a formidable punch. For this reason, despite not being a striker, he was always top scorer in 2007.

After a 2020 without races due to the pandemic, Franco broke the finish line in Ninth place, although his leap came when he grew up and gained weight thanks to River’s overall work and his discipline despite his youth. “You have to be professional 24 hours a day,” he said in a note on the club’s website, referring to his behavior with food and his studies at the River Institute.

In the seventh, the left-hander exploded. And he was the captain of his division. He immediately moved to Quinta and, even faster, made the leap to the professionals to join Demichelis’ preseason, months after signing his first professional contract (until December 2025) with a clause of 30 million euros. The signing took place in the week of his birthday, August 14th.

In Bradenton, Mastantuono, who has Messi as an idol and admires Nacho Fernández, he dazzled Demichelis, his coaching staff and players. And he stood out (for play, character, personality and luxury) in the two friendlies with Rayados and Pachuca, in which he came on in the second half. At 16 years and four months, he was the youngest member of River’s entire delegation on American soil and also the youngest footballer to join a First Division preseason at the club in more than a decade.

“The youth players are all very good and very dynamic. But me I have a soft spot for Franco Mastantuono. He is very small but I can see him very well, with a very armed physique. You have to take him little by little, talk to him and teach him, and that’s what we all work for,” he praised. Nacho Fernandez.

“Franco is left-footed, has a good vision of the game, is very technical and has a great finishing stroke. He is intelligent and interprets the game with ease. He is an excellent project for the future. The pre-season he had with the Primera will mature a lot, but as I always say, We must be cautious and not rush the logical processes of maturation“, analyzed Gabriel Rodríguez.

Demichelis also focused on Mastantuono, who before the preseason had added minutes in the Under 17 World Cup in Indonesia, where he shared the squad with Echeverri, Agustín Ruberto and Ian Subiabre, among other interesting Millonario promises. And although the idea of Micho was to take him little by little, it would not be surprising if he included him in the list of concentrates and if he felt him on the substitutes’ bench on Sunday against Argentinos at the Monumental, at the start of the League Cup. Not only because of the good impression he made on him, but also because the context makes it necessary given the large number of victims that the team has, including injuries and players participating in the Pre-Olympic Games in Venezuela.

So while everyone is talking Diablito Echeverrialready sold, there’s another gem appearing in River. It’s Mastantuono. The boy who changed his racket to number five.