The last dance: Zapelli says goodbye to Belgrano

In Argentine soccer, the future has already arrived. With the Professional League Tournament still underway, the 28 teams in the AFA top category managed to rearrange the pieces for the second half of the year, which has reserved almost all the definitions -another champion, qualification for international competitions and relegations – with the League Cup dispute, which will start on August 20.

The turnover of players was anticipated, because the calendar is not even aligned with the expiration date of many of the contracts, and now the time has come to adapt to the terms and values ​​imposed by the foreign market.

Bruno Zapelli is one of the footballers who won’t be able to complete the year in the ‘world champions league’. The player other than Belgrano will continue his career at Atlético Paranaense, a Curitiba team that has just been eliminated from the Brazilian Cup, marches in the middle of the table in the Brasileirao and next month will resume his participation in the Copa Libertadores, where he will face Bolívar de La Paz for the round of 16.

A CURITIBA. At Atlético Paranaense, Zapelli will have Brazilian Fernandinho and Chilean Arturo Vidal as teammates. /// PHOTO: CEDOC PROFILE

The 21-year-old hitch, a key piece of last year’s First National champion cast, says goodbye to Alberdi after 65 games.

In 2023, he was present in the 25 official games of the Pirate: he started 21 times (he played the 90 minutes against Unión, Talleres, Instituto and Barracas Central, and was eliminated 17 times), on two occasions he came on from the bench, and was among the substitutes against Arsenal, on the 6th date of the current tournament, and in the duel against Independiente Rivadavia for the Argentine Cup. He scored a goal, had three assists and received a booking.

The sale of 60% percent of the pass of the former Atlético de Carlos Paz y Atalaya represents an income of US$ 5 million for the sky-blue club’s treasury, equivalent to five monthly budgets, according to the official exchange rate.

In Brazil, Zapelli, who will sign a five-year contract, will have as teammates Fernandinho, a midfielder who has two World Cup appearances and a stint with Manchester City, Chilean international Arturo Vidal and two Argentines: Tomás Cuello (former Atlético Tucumán) and Lucas Esquivel (former Union of Santa Fe).

Silvio Romero (Fortaleza), Fabricio Bustos (Inter), Cristian Pavón and Renzo Saravia (Atlético Mineiro) are already playing in the neighboring country.

INTERNATIONAL. On March 25, Bruno joined the Italian Under-21 team. He will play for Argentina in the next Pre-Olympic. /// PHOTO: CEDOC PROFILE

To cushion the impact of the departure of ‘Mudito’ (as many call Zapelli, comparing him with Franco Vázquez, another of the last great ’10’ from Belgran), the leadership headed by Luis Fabián Artime moved quickly in the transfer market and the arrival of the Chilean Matías Marín (23), O’Higgins’ offensive midfielder, is certain. According to him, “B” bought 80 percent of his card for almost a million dollars.

The movements in Alberdi had already begun with the departures of Gabriel Compagnucci (FC Universitatea Craiova of Romania), Gerónimo Tomasetti (All Boys) and Andrés Amaya (Atlético Huila of Colombia). Pablo Chavarría will arrive, a striker with a celestial past who comes from playing in Malaga, a club that lost the category in the second Spanish division. The great challenge will be to shield Pablo Vegetti, one of the League’s top scorers.

The Cordovan exodus

In Workshops, it is estimated that the news will arrive in the next few days, when Andrés Fassi returns to Córdoba after a long absence. In recent months, the albiazul headline’s agenda has been dominated by his new role as partner of MountanStar Sports, the border consortium that manages the clubs FC Juárez from Mexico and El Paso Locomotive FC from the United States, and which is negotiating their landing in the Granada, from the Spanish League.

This triangle that joins a Jardín neighborhood with “the twin cities” of North America and Old Andalusia, with a common name at its vertices, could be decisive for the future of some footballers who make up the top squad of the “T”.

Diego Valoyes and Rodrigo Garro are the ones with the best chances of emigrating at the end of the current tournament. Also Michael Santos, Matías Catalán and Gastón Benavídez, their positions coincide with the search for reinforcements for ‘Los Bravos’ from Liga MX.

The first to leave were Alan Franco (Atlético Mineiro) and Nicolás Pasquini (Sporting Cristal from Peru) and there is interest from Nacional de Uruguay for Christian Oliva and from San Lorenzo for Federico Girotti.

Colombian defender Kevin Mantilla (Independiente Santa Fe) and Uruguayan midfielder Manuel Castro (FC Juárez) are the first two names mentioned as possible additions to the ‘T’.

GARRO AND VALUES. Two of those who have the most chances of emigrating from Talleres in the next transfer market. Instituto, owner of 40% of its file, is awaiting a possible sale of the down payment /// PHOTO: CEDOC PROFILE

At the Institute, the priority is to strengthen the squad to guarantee the goal of maintaining a place in the elite category. Franco Watson’s performances in recent games would have refloated the interest of Godoy Cruz de Mendoza (at the beginning of the year he offered 1 million dollars for 90% of the token), although the expectations of the red-and-white board, in terms of income from transfers, they go through the future of four players who are not in the club.

‘La Gloria’ maintains 40% of Garro (Talleres) in its possession, owns half of the economic rights of Malcom Braida (San Lorenzo) and Tadeo Allende (Godoy Cruz) and has secured the collection of 10% of a future sale River striker Lucas Beltrán.

THE HEAD. Andrés D’Alessandro’s move to Inter Porto Alegre, in July 2008, started the fever for the importation of Argentinian gear into Brazilian soccer. /// PHOTO: CEDOC PROFILE

The ’10’ Argentines in the land of Pelé

Jairzinho, Pelé, Gerson, Tostao and Rivelinho was the famous forward of the 1970 world champion Brazil team, which went down in history as ‘The team of the five 10’. Those talents were followed by other prominent names: Zico, Raí, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaká and Neymar.

The landing of Andrés D’Alessandro at Inter Porto Alegre, in mid-2008, inaugurated the importation of Argentine clubs by Brazilian clubs.

Darío Conca, Walter Montillo, Ezequiel ‘Equi’ González, Darío Bottinelli, Marcelo Cañete, Manuel Lanzini, Damián Escudero, Patricio Rodríguez, Facundo Bertoglio, Brian Sarmiento and Diego Morales were the first to follow the path of ‘El Cabezón’.

Then followed Lucas Mugni, Alan Ruiz, Emanuel Biancucci, Héctor Canteros, Emiliano Vecchio, Damián Lizio, Claudio Aquino, Matías Pisano, Luciano Cabral, Leonardo Pisculichi, Jonathan Gómez, Alexis Messidoro, Martín Serrafiore, Tomás Andrade (in 2018 he was introduced as ‘ D’Alessandrito’ in Atlético Mineiro) and Ignacio Fernández.