Pratto on Santa Fe stint: "At Unión I found my confidence" | OneFootball

Lucas Pratto recalled how his arrival at Unión in the 2009/10 season came about, a brief but decisive step in his career. The forward, who at the time was seeking continuity after being trained at Boca, revealed that his move to Santa Fe had two key names: Nery Pumpido and Coco Basile.

"Nery Pumpido, who was the manager of Unión, called me. They were second in the B division and he told me they wanted to bring me in. That's how I accepted. Coco Basile helped me a lot to leave, because otherwise, they might not have let me go from Boca," Oso recounted on the program Clank! At that time, he was just 21 years old and needed minutes to showcase himself.

That loan turned out to be a success for both the player and the club. In 19 matches wearing the tatengue jersey, Pratto contributed six goals and seven assists, becoming one of the standout players on the team led by Turco Alí.

The forward himself recalled how fate unexpectedly opened the door to the starting lineup: "When I arrived at Unión, I was lucky because I was going to be a substitute in the first match. I arrived, and the tournament started a week later. Claudio Guerra and Chaco Cólzera were playing in the attack. The Friday before, Claudio got injured during set-piece practice. So I played the first match, we won 1-0, and I provided the assist, besides playing well."

The start was ideal. "In the second match, we won again, I scored a goal, and in the third, when Claudio returned, Turco took Chaco out so we could pair up," he recalled with a laugh.

Beyond the numbers, what Pratto values most about his time at Unión is the personal and football growth he experienced: "I was more mobile because I was never a traditional number 9. In those 19 matches, I played every minute and gained a lot of confidence. We didn't achieve promotion, but I felt important, I was always there."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.