47 under-20s used in first four Clausura rounds, two from Unión | OneFootball

It may happen that a foreign football fan, possibly from Europe, sits down or lies back to watch a match in Argentina’s distorted, highly competitive, and overhandled football scene. So, for example, a Spaniard or an Italian or an Englishman may have come across the match a few days ago between Newell’s and Boca at the Marcelo Bielsa Colossus. And surely there were two footballers who caught his eye: Leonel Flores and Luca Regiardo. The winger for the side managed by Rodolfo Arruabarrena was the standout player in the 2-2 draw, while the Rosario-born midfielder scored a goal and also wore the captain’s armband for La Lepra. Both are 19 years old.

They are not exceptions. There is an abundance of under-20 players playing starring roles across the 30 teams in the top division of the Professional League. It is true that young talents have always broken into the top tier of Argentine football, but the number of participating teams and the country’s economic instability have sped everything up. Clubs need to sell, and young players are emerging as an increasingly concrete alternative.

Not necessarily is this the best time to throw them onto the pitch. Fans’ patience in Argentina is wearing thinner and thinner. If academy kids used to be wildly applauded before, now they can be booed if they do not show major credentials after just a couple of matches. The figure provided by the specialized website Transfermarkt is forceful: 47 footballers under the age of 20 were used in the first four rounds of the Clausura Tournament.

“In recent times the context has not been the best, but the club’s boys, whether the situation is good or bad, are always going to defend the club on the pitch,” Regiardo said in the newspaper La Capital. And he added: “Being captain is another dream come true. I try to do it in the best possible way and with great responsibility. It is something that carries a huge commitment because of everything the institution is and all its history. The captain has to be an example to follow in some way. You have to do things in the best way possible, both on and off the field.”

Leonel Flores, Boca’s wonderkid, also knew from a young age that the opportunity could come at any moment. “When I put on the Boca shirt, I feel that I have to leave everything out on the pitch because if someone else comes along one day, he can take my place,” he said years ago, when he was just playing in the Ninth Division. He had the idea clear in his mind. That is why it feels like the forward will do everything possible to remain among the starters.

“There are many former teammates at the training ground. We knew what Flores could give us, but the credit goes to him for taking his opportunities and continuing to be self-critical about the things he still knows he needs to improve,” Arruabarrena praised him, the coach who handed him his debut on July 16 against Sarmiento de Junín in the Copa Argentina.

Flores’ rise has been so explosive (he has only 8 appearances and 2 goals) that it has slightly overshadowed Tomás Aranda, the playmaker now established among the starters and already called up by Lionel Scaloni to the national team.

But the phenomenon is not limited to Boca and Newell’s. According to a report by the Professional League, the clubs with strong youth setups are the ones that rely most heavily on young players. During the Apertura Tournament won by Belgrano de Córdoba, Newell’s started Under-20 players on 30 occasions. They were followed by Vélez (22), Gimnasia (21), and Rosario Central (20).

“You can win matches with kids, but not championships,” goes a popular saying that history tends to prove right. But there is something else that cannot be disputed either: young players spark special interest among fans and viewers, who are, after all, the real stars of the football business.

Now then, which young players are already standing out and should be followed closely?

At Argentinos, Facundo Jainikoski shines, an attack-minded midfielder or thoughtful forward who is just 18. Also at El Bicho, attacker Alan Alcaraz has begun to get minutes.

At Rosario Central, meanwhile, Giovani Cantizano and Ignacio Ovando, both 19, are part of Jorge Almirón’s starting lineup. But Newell’s is even more striking: besides captain Regiardo, Facundo Guch (19), Thomas Ríos (19), and Jerónimo Gómez Mattar (17) are important pieces for coach Frank Darío Kudelka.

At Gimnasia, Nicolás Barros Schelotto (19) has lost a bit of ground, but Ariel Pereyra handed a debut in the clash against Aldosivi to academy youngster Lucas Lamella, just 16 years old.

Midfielder Alejandro Tello (18) has earned Juan Pablo Vojvoda’s trust at Racing, which also got a strong performance from left-sided center-back Gonzalo Escudero (19).

Others who have been getting playing time include Thaiel Peralta (17) at Huracán; Valentín Dávila (19) and Giovanni Baroni (17) at Talleres; Agustín Medina (19) at Lanús; Misael Aguirre (18) and Lucas Ayala (19) at Unión; and Lisandro Piñero (19) at Banfield.

Vélez’s Factory is well known around the world, not just in Argentina. In this championship, Guillermo Barros Schelotto has already used Luca Feler (18), Alex Verón (17), Simón Escobar (17), and Thiago Aguirre (17).

Tobías Andrada (19) moved from El Fortín to River and is a starter for Eduardo Coudet, who also tends to place his trust in Joaquín Freitas (19), Lucas Silva (19), Lautaro Pereyra (18), and Juan Cruz Meza (18).

At El Taladro, meanwhile, a particular situation arose with Tiziano Perrotta (19). Elche of Spain, a club run by Christian Bragarnik, paid the release clause ($4 million) for the youngster who scored 8 goals in 18 matches under Pedro Troglio. The curious thing is that the forward was loaned out for six months to Defensa y Justicia.

Perrotta’s case largely sums up the new landscape: the kids appear earlier, play earlier, and can also quickly become the next piece of business. In an Argentine football scene that needs results but also dollars, the academy is no longer just a bet on the future. For many clubs, it is a present-day necessity.

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