“I can’t speak to what never happened”: Pulga on being a Boca idol | OneFootball

Luis Miguel Rodríguez didn’t need to think too hard during his appearance on La Noche de TyC Sports. When faced with the classic true-or-false segment, the forward was emphatic when asked whether playing for the club from La Ribera had been the greatest dream of his career: “True.” However, when it came to whether he would have managed to win over the hearts of the xeneize crowd, the striker preferred to keep his feet on the ground and answered with the same honesty: “False. I can’t vouch for something that never happened.”

Behind that powerful revelation lies a story of absolute perseverance. From being a kid from Simoca, Tucumán, who played barefoot because he had no boots and worked as a bricklayer and painter to help support a household of nine siblings, the “Pulga” went on to experience the harshness of uprooting at 13, when he traveled alone to Italy to join Arezzo and ended up abandoned at a train station, without money, without a club, and unable to speak the language.

Despite the hardships that nearly made him give up the sport, he became one of the most respected and beloved figures in provincial football. At Atlético Tucumán he sealed a golden era over the course of his first two spells: he played 325 matches, scored 130 goals, and became the club’s second all-time top scorer, behind SantiagoMichal. Wearing the Decano shirt, he won the Torneo Argentino A in 2008 and the Primera B Nacional in the 2009 and 2015 editions, in addition to reaching the historic final of the Copa Argentina 2016-17 and taking part in the Copa Libertadores 2018.

His mystique was later carried over to Colón, where he arrived at age 34 and left an unforgettable legacy. He led the Sabalero to its first international final in the Copa Sudamericana 2019 and, on June 4, 2021, spearheaded the conquest of the Copa de la Liga Profesional, lifting the first official title in the 116-year history of the Santa Fe club after finishing as the tournament’s top scorer. His long career would later include spells at Gimnasia de La Plata, Central Córdoba de Santiago del Estero and Gimnasia de Jujuy, before sealing his third return to Atlético Tucumán in 2024. The crowning moment at the national level came in 2009 at the hands of Diego Armando Maradona. The legend called him up to the Argentina National Team for a friendly against Ghana that ended in a 2-0 win for the Albiceleste; that night, the Tucumán native came onto the field in the 57th minute as a substitute for Martín Palermo. A career full of glory and epic moments for a street-footballer who was only missing the chance to wear the blue and gold shirt.

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