He was 10 years old and wore the Boca shirt: the discoverer of Paulo Dybala remembers the day he found him

The name of paolo dibala In recent weeks he has been associated with the best clubs in the world. It is a piece of luxury that many European powers want to have on their board. The southpaw from Cordoba, who ultimately opted for the Inter Milanended his relationship with Juventus after seven years and was sacked amidst a sea of ​​applause in Turin.

The 28-year-old striker will play for the third team in Serie A. He knows football well. Before putting on the shirt old ladyPaulo defended the colors of the Palermo, today in the Italian second division. And first, those of Central Institute of Athletics of Cordoba.

That’s where his story began. In the whole of Upper Córdoba. He arrived with 10 years and a dream backpack for a test at the La Agustina facilitywhere is the Glory it shapes young talents who will later shine in the First Division. it wasn’t yet The jewel. He was a kid who dribbled and hit the ball with remarkable ease. They understood his talent and after seeing him for ten minutes they gave way.

Santos Turza, the head hunter

The eyes of Santos Turza, its great discoverer, have been able to appreciate the conditions of Dybala before anyone else. It was the key for the southpaw to wear the red and white jersey and not another one. In dialogue with Clarione, the legendary talent scout of 72 years ago a detailed review of the life of the Cordovan. From the Lagunense boy to the man who triumphs in Milan today.

“Before, I saw him in Laguna Larga, his hometown, playing friendly games when he was little. And then my father brought him here to Agustina when he was ten and I hired him “, confesses Turza with a smile that mixes pride and joy for” his jewel “which will now share the advantage with Lautaro Martínez and Lukaku to Inter. .

It all started years ago in the premises of the White and redwhen he showed up where the pension works today.

-What do you remember of that moment?

-I saw him for ten minutes and I said ‘stay’. On Tuesdays and Fridays his father Adolfo took him to train and on Sundays he took him to play. Every day they traveled 50 kilometers to come here.

-What did you see different?

-Appearance. Ten or fifteen minutes left me to see him here. He is skilled, he hits the ball well. He was different. When he was 15, I left him in a boarding house here in Alta Córdoba, four or five blocks from the camp. And later in 2011, in that great campaign we did, he was lucky enough to go up to the First Division and play.

-Is it true that you went to try on the Boca shirt?

-Yup. I kicked him out. I told him: “It’s all very well, but don’t come to me dressed like that anymore.” And every time we meet, he tells me I have the Upside Down. ‘Tell me something now’. Here (La Agustina) you cannot enter with any shirt other than that of the Institute. Neither River, nor Boca, nor Belgrano.

-Do you see often?

-Last time was five years ago. Paulo played a game there in Laguna and there were five thousand people, no more people came. Then we went to lunch and we were like a thousand people. I remember I was sitting with Facu Campazzo and Ulises Bueno.

Paulo Dybala, the gladiator

Paulo Dybala belongs to the lineage of excellent players and stylists on the playing field, but outside he is a great fighter. He identifies with the term “gladiator”. An example of how to fight the problems that life puts on the road. In this, the Cordovan has experience.

His father Adolfo died of cancer when Paulo was 15 years old.. From that moment on he took his father’s dream as his and worked to make it come true: to play in the First Division.

But first he had to win his duel. And Santos Turza, again, was fundamental. “For this reason I loaned it to Newell’s Old Boys in Laguna Larga for four months. I made him do the papers so that he was close to the family and then he went back to the Institute “confesses of that difficult time.

Recovered from that situation, the forward has refined his career and Turza has seen him grow up like a son: “Then he arrived in the First Division. At Palermo in Italy, at Juventus and well, now we will see if he goes to Inter or to a Premier League club ”, says this great talent scout while he directs a training session for the women’s team at the Instituto.

-Would you like to see him at Inter?

-I see him well at Inter because he would play in the same league. He is used to it because he played there for many years and was a top scorer. In Italy I am in solidarity with Inter. The same, if you give me the chance to go to the Premier League, which is the best league there is.

-So, would you like to see him in the Premier League?

-Yup. For the pace of the championship. The matches are spectacular and there are five or six top teams. Also, it seems to me that it’s more for the game than for him.

Dybala has already confessed to being a Boca fan. He did it at the end of a match in the second division of Argentine football with the jersey of the Institute. And also in a chat with Ibai recently, where his answer should have been read between the lines.

“Boca or River?” asked the Spanish streamer. The attacker replied: “You put me in a big effort. I tell you this because my father was a Boca fan, and my mom was from River. Of course, football has always been passed on to us by our father. In turn, I have a brother from River and another from Independiente. But I’ve always watched football with my father, “he explained. There is nothing to do but interpret his sayings about him.

For now, in the Italian peninsula they will continue to enjoy the goals of the Cordovan striker discovered 18 years ago by Turza, a man of history and a sharp eye. But who knows. Perhaps, in a few years, he will play in Argentina with the Boca shirt, a club of which he is a confessed fan and of which he was also his father.

Turza’s other discoveries

Santos Turza is a scout. A born talent scout. In Europe it is called his business scoutingbut it has been doing it since before that term became popular on television sofas.

Turza started working on the Glory in 1972. Five decades have passed and his clinical eye is still as sharp as before. “I see the technique. I don’t care about running. Athletics is for running. I see how they play ball,” she points out.

Despite his 72 years, he goes to the Institute’s grounds every day and does not lose any matches on weekends, both locally and away. He served on the board of directors for 20 years and now calls himself a collaborator. From the side of a field, he recalls some of his great achievements of him.

“From here have emerged players like Ernesto Caruch Short that he was Captain of River; or Silvio Romerothat I took him from a school, the brothers Klimowicz that they were also my neighbors, “Turza explains passively as he remembers.

Hard to believe, but the list goes on. Juan Carlos Lightning Menseguez, Ramon Wanchope Ábila, Javier Correa, Gonzalo Maroni, Lucas Beltrán, Oscar Alberto Dertycia and Mateo Bajamichare some of the names that complete his repertoire.

There were also errors, of course. And he recognizes them. “If I told you about those who didn’t arrive,” she confesses. However, every time Paulo Dybala is mentioned, her chest swells with pride. And it is no less. The Jewel grew up in the Institute and now dazzles the world. For now Turza will have the pleasure of seeing him at Inter, a club for which he sympathizes. Will he come to train with the Boca shirt?