47 under-20s used in first four Torneo Clausura rounds: two at Unión | OneFootball

It may happen that a foreign football fan, possibly from Europe, sits down or lies back to watch a match in the distorted, competitive, and overhandled Argentine football scene. So, for example, a Spaniard, 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 there were surely two footballers who caught his eye: Leonel Flores and Luca Regiardo. The winger for Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s team 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 Liga Profesional First Division. It is true that youngsters have always broken through into the top tier of Argentine football, but the number of participating teams and the economic instability have sped up the timeline. Clubs need to sell, and young players are emerging as an increasingly real 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 whistled at if they fail to show major credentials after a couple of matches. The figure provided by the specialized site Transfermarkt is striking: 47 footballers under the age of 20 were used in the first four rounds of the Clausura Tournament.

“In recent times the context hasn’t 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. He added: “Being captain is another dream come true. I try to do it in the best possible way and with a lot of responsibility. It comes with a huge commitment because of everything this institution is and all its history. The captain has to be an example for others to follow in some way. You have to do things in the best possible way, both on and off the pitch.”

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 there on the pitch because if someone else comes along one day, he can take my place,” he said years ago, when he had only just started playing in the Ninth Division. He had the idea clear in his mind. That is why the feeling is that the forward will do everything possible to remain among the starters.

“At the training ground there are many former teammates. We knew what Flores could give us, but it is to his credit that he has taken advantage of the opportunities and continues to be self-critical about the things he still knows he has to improve,” praised Arruabarrena, the coach who gave him his debut on July 16 against Sarmiento de Junín in the Copa Argentina.

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

But the phenomenon is not limited to Boca and Newell’s. According to a report from the Liga Profesional, the clubs with strong youth structures are the ones that rely most on youngsters. 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 win matches with kids, but not championships,” goes a popular saying that history has proven right. But there is something else that cannot be disputed either: young players spark special interest among fans and spectators, who are, in the end, the star players in the football business.

Now then, which youngsters are already standing out and deserve to be followed closely?

At Argentinos, Facundo Jainikoski shines, a creative attacking midfielder or thoughtful forward who is just 18 years old. 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 what is happening at Newell’s is even more striking: in addition to 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 to youth player Lucas Lamella, just 16 years old, in the match against Aldosivi.

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

Others who have also been getting playing time are 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 Fábrica is known around the world, not just in Argentina. In this tournament, 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, moreover, a particular situation arose with Tiziano Perrotta (19). Elche of Spain, a club managed by Christian Bragarnik, paid the release clause (4 million dollars) for the youngster who scored 8 goals in 18 matches under Pedro Troglio. Curiously, the forward was then loaned out for six months to Defensa y Justicia.

Perrotta’s case largely sums up the new landscape: kids appear earlier, play earlier, and can also quickly become the next piece of business. In an Argentine football world that needs results but also dollars, the academy has stopped being only a bet on the future. For many clubs, it is now a present-day necessity.

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