Leandro Brey’s family cries when they see the little archer debut at the Boca arch

On Tuesday night the 12th, Boca won the match 2-0 always ready of Bolivia for the second day of the Copa Libertadores, an important victory after the first defeat against Deportivo Cali, in Colombia. Xeneize fans celebrated the victory while in one of the corners of Bombonera a small group cried after living one of the saddest moments of their lives.

This is the family of Leandro Breythe 19-year-old goalkeeper arrived at La Ribera club this summer from Los Andes, and within a few months had the chance to debut Sebastián Battaglia’s team goal, at least the Libertadores.

Brey went to the substitute bench as a result of a sanction ended by Javier García, and on Tuesday he jumped on the playing field because Rossi claimed muscular discomfort at halftime. No one expected the archer to have to put on his gloves and replace Agustín. And even more moved were Leandro’s relatives, who couldn’t hold back their tears when they saw it run towards the arch overlooking Riachuelo.

The video was captured by a Twitter account following Xeneize called @bocagoles. There you will find all of Brey, between joyful and perplexed, giving courage to the child who until recent months had played in First B. His father was directly in tears, in an image of soccer that more than shirts.

Brey’s story

Next to the Eduardo Gallardón stadium, in the heart of Lomas de Zamora, is the Ejército de Los Andes school. There, in the midst of the pandemic, he finished high school Leandro Brey.

The 19-year-old goalkeeper was not yet born when, in 1972, Los Andes decided to extend his social ties and have its own educational institution at Bichito Rojo Kindergarten. Neither when the institution opened the primary school in 1984 and even in 2000, when came the polymodal graduate training of students.

From the Los Andes school, in every sense, Brey came out. The youngest goalkeeper in Argentine soccer, the most recognizable player in Primera B last season, now lives up to the challenge of entering a new world: the famous Boca World.

Brey wore gloves that were more of a disposal than a belief. It has been tested on milrayite marker in the middle. And it remained. He came at the age of 10 to play with the kids and then start the path to Inferior.

“I was then released in Novena -he recalled-. So it occurred to me to try myself as a goalkeeper and the truth is it was very good for me”.

Football is made of weird things like this. The rest came from Brey’s talent (he is 1.91 meters tall and weighs 89 kilograms) and a little luck from being the fourth goalkeeper to being a substitute to the First with just 17 years.

In August 2020, while attending club school and training at the Villa Albertina venue, he signed his first contract. This shifting market, as there were no relegations and added to the economic problems that stemmed from the pandemic, spurred promotion clubs of projection club boys and removed many contracts, including goalkeepers who were Daniel Monllor and Elías Frets.

Federico Díaz, the starter, and Brey remained.

“In some training sessions I played as a midfielder so I also knew that position. Then I started as a goalkeeper and stayed there,” he said.

And how is it defined in the arch?

“I’m a hard-working goalkeeper and I try to be very demanding on the mistakes I’ve made. Now in Argentina there are two great goalkeepers, who are (Esteban) Andrada and (Franco) Armani, but I always look at Guido Herrera, from in Talleres ”, he described in an interview with the newspaper La Unión.

With the season ending, Brey’s hands were crucial to bring the Lomas team to Reduced and fight for promotion. In the penalty shootout against Acassuso, he stopped a shot with a spectacular shot on his right post that sealed the qualification for the semifinals which the team lost to Colegiales.

Everything is happening at accelerated speed. He made his debut in March 2021 15 minutes into the first date match against Argentino de Quilmes he entered due to the expulsion of Federico Díaz. He obeyed and never came out.

The numbers supported the decision: he had the shortest goal in the Metropolitan B tournament, with 20 goals.

His arrival in Boca is offered as a bet for the future and to replace Agustín Lastra, who has borrowed from Aldosivi, after renewing his contract until 2026. The young man from Loma will fight behind Agustín Rossi, the no dubious starter to xeneize goal, and Javier García, the usual replacement.

In the footsteps of Clemente and Maidana

This is not the first time a player from Los Andes has made the direct jump to Boca. There are two recent examples of successful career defenders.

Clement Rodriguez He made low levels at Loma club, where he did not make it to the First Division, and landed in Boca in 2000. He made his debut at the age of just 19 and spent two cycles (2000/2004 and 2007) in which he was part of four national titles, two Libertadores and an Intercontinental.

Another notorious case is that of Jonathan Maidana. Born in Adrogué, he also made minors in Los Andes and there he made his first steps at B Nacional in 2004. Two years later he wore blue and gold with Alfio Basile as coach. There are 66 matches and 5 titles: the Recopa Sudamericana in 2008, the Torneo Clausura in 2006, the Recopa Sudamericana in 2006, the Copa Libertadores de América in 2007 and the Torneo Apertura in 2008.

He will then move to Ukraine Metalist. And a few hours later, after a brief stint at Banfield, he would head to the River where he became the epitome of the Marcelo Gallardo cycle.