Matías Ibáñez: ex-Colón keeper thriving with bold Miami venture | OneFootball

At 39 years old, the former Colón goalkeeper, born in Ciudad Evita, hung up his gloves and boots to dedicate himself to tourism, both in Bahía Blanca and Miami.

Matías Ibáñez, who began his career at Olimpo de Bahía Blanca and later played for San Lorenzo, Eibar, Lanús (where he won his only two titles), Temperley, Patronato, Racing, Colón, and Unión La Calera in Chile, has started to enjoy a new role in his life.

After hanging up his gloves and boots, he decided to venture into tourism: he studied business administration and English to broaden his sales spectrum and professionalize his activity outside of football, as he now sells travel packages and accommodations in Miami, United States.

“You have to prepare yourself and know that football comes to an end. I spoke with psychologists and came to the conclusion that the adrenaline I used to feel before matches, I won’t find anywhere else. It’s a stage that ends,” he said in a recent interview. But in addition to revealing how he navigated the end of his career as a goalkeeper, the native of Ciudad Evita, who debuted in 2007 with Olimpo’s jersey, shared details about how his life changed.

“I’ve been involved in tourism for ten years. While I was playing football, I rented out apartments in the United States. Based on the knowledge I gained, I opened my own travel agency,” he exclaimed. He also completed courses as a head coach, sports advisor, goalkeeper coach, scouting, coaching, and sports commentator. But his life is far from sports now, and much closer to enjoyment and pleasure.

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Knowing that a footballer’s career is very short and that, without a multi-million dollar transfer to Europe, it would be very difficult to make a financial difference, he saved his salaries and, together with a group of partners, invested in properties in the United States to set up a daily and weekly rental service in Miami.

Determined to change his football habits, he allocated his financial investments to acquire the properties and also to enhance the marketing that brought his two business accounts on Instagram to nearly 40,000 followers. And that led to personalities like Susana Giménez learning about his apartments.

“Over the years, I’ve built trust with people who travel and rent. Being a public figure, people trust me. Some know who I am, others have no idea, but they recommend me. Nowadays, I manage around 100 apartments in Miami and work with other people who handle check-ins and other matters I can’t take care of from afar,” he emphasized.

Matías Ibáñez and trips to the World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada

“People are going crazy. There are so many inquiries. At the agency, we’ve started putting together packages with internal transfers,” he stressed about the number of questions he receives daily regarding the World Cup competition that will take place mid-year.

“The apartments rent for $150 per day. There are also other options where the stay costs $2,500. The offer is very varied,” he revealed about the current rates. He even said there are more comprehensive plans: “The packages are around $10,000 and include tickets for the first three group stage matches.”

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