Belgrano, a project that aims at the bases

Belgrano is a pioneer institution in the country for its work and development in women’s soccer. He has been strengthening the foundations of this discipline for more than a decade. Now he is taking giant steps in his project aimed at the training and base of girls and adolescents. Currently, it has more than 160 youth players in its lower division structure, an unprecedented event in Córdoba and much of Argentina.

They have U-14, U-16 and U-19 players participating in the AFA youth tournament; in addition to Sub-15 and Sub-17 and First League of Cordoba, and the Sub-10 and Sub-12 girls are added. Multiple categories and a promising future augur in the Villa Esquiú property.

The coaching staff is made up of Antonella Internicola, Constanza Guerra, Celeste Guevara, Mayra Bertola, Julia Olmos, María Ahuir and Soledad Lobotrico. ‘Anto’ Internicola is the coach of the AFA Reserve and the Sub-16. She was a Racing de Nueva Italia player and until two years ago she was a coach for the Argentino Peñarol women’s team. She has extensive experience in soccer and is the head of this project. In dialogue with this medium, she told about the joy and responsibility that this project that she is carrying out requires. “For me it is beautiful to be able to be part of a club that bets on formative football from below and that, also, bets that those inferiors can participate in AFA. The competition is totally different, much more playing time, refereeing shortlist, teams that have highly ranked players in all their categories. I am really enjoying it a lot, and I thank the people of the club who gave me the confidence to continue competing this year”.

Along the same lines, ‘Coti’ Guerra, a historic DT from Córdoba, said: “The experience that the players are having is incredible. We are experiencing something very beautiful and very good. Traveling every 15 days is a different reality from what is lived in other places. The club had to increase its structure, we are more than last year, because we have a lot of players”.

WORK TEAM. The teachers who are training the promises of the feminine ‘pirate’.

Possible Dreams. Many of these girls dream of being the next ‘Pepa’ Gómez or Sabrina Maldonado. They dream of playing in the First Division, in Belgrano, at Gigante de Alberdi. It is no longer a utopia, as it seemed perhaps five years ago.

Internicola said that youth recruitment has been done through tests. This year some players were promoted from Under-12 to Under-14 and from Under-14 to Under-16. “We are always going to do tests because we have many categories in competition, but it is AFA it is LCF and we always aspire to have teams that are competitive and play well. It is a long process of teamwork,” he added.

In addition, he highlighted: “Having Under-10 and Under-12 makes the players reach a higher category with another quality.” By the way, Guerra explained: “The work aims to have a great seedbed, give filming to all and respond to the needs of the club. There is an impressive level of players, both technical and tactical, nothing to do with how they came from. What Belgrano is doing is going to give Cordoba football a great leap in quality. We started with a very good initial youth training and from an early age. There is a very big projection”.

LEARNING. DT Antonella Internicola giving directions to the juniors.

• There is a future in Workshops
• Talleres is consolidated with its main women’s soccer team, where it plays in the AFA Primera B, and has invested heavily with important players, in search of their promotion to Primera. But do not neglect the lower ones. Currently they have teams of players in Sub-17 and Sub-15 in Liga Cordobesa. It is worth clarifying that they cannot participate in AFA, since that is a priority for those who are in First Division. The youth coaches are Mariano Quevedo and Rocío Zuviarrain. There are 50 players between the two categories and to these are added the 37 who train with the AFA First Division, several of which play in the LCF First Division. They are working hard, replicating the male youth training methodology, and it is made up of many ‘interior’ footballers. There is a future, they celebrate in the Jardín neighborhood, where they are excited about Brisa Jara who plays for the Argentine U-17 team.