Lautaro Rivero: from street vendor to surprise Argentina call-up | OneFootball

The list for the Argentine National Team for the upcoming FIFA date has been released, where they will play friendlies against Venezuela and Puerto Rico. Lionel Scaloni surprised everyone by including several names that were not on the fans' minds. One of them is Lautaro Rivero, who is living a dream present at River and has a past of effort and work on the streets that deserves to be told.

The left-footed defender, for whom the Millionaires executed the buy-back clause months ago to have him play in the Club World Cup, had a tough childhood, which led him to sell alfajores on the streets until a few years before debuting in the First Division to bring some money home.

Raised alongside his five siblings, his beginnings in football were at the Los Halcones club, which was just a few blocks from his home in his native Moreno. He also played in the neighborhood fields with his friends. He then had stints at Villa Luro Norte and La Victoria before joining the Millionaires at 14 years old. "We are very humble and hardworking; the first thing I want is for my family to be better and have everything they deserve. I want to see my mom, dad, and siblings well. Thanks to them, I am here, fighting every day. I had many difficult things to overcome, and because of them, I am at my best," he declared in an interview with River's official website in 2022.

He started as a left midfielder, but his good build and profile (left-footed, 1.85m) moved him back to the center of defense. There, he began to stand out, to the point of wearing the captain's armband in many of the lower categories. In 2021, he was promoted to the Reserve, where he began a period of adaptation alternating with appearances in the Fourth Division. At the end of 2023, when he was about to become a free agent, he signed his first professional contract.

The following year, already established as a defensive pillar in the Third Division, Martín Demichelis included him in the official squad list for the Copa Libertadores. Despite being considered by the coach, the number and quality of players in that position in the professional squad kept him sidelined. Therefore, he decided to move to Central Córdoba in search of opportunities.

Rivero debuted in the First Division on June 2 of last year, in the 4-2 defeat of Ferroviario against Talleres, when Lucas González Vélez was still the coach. With the Colombian on the bench, he was a starter in almost all matches, but when Omar De Felippe arrived, he was sidelined to the point of being left out of the squad for several matches, including the Copa Argentina final against Estudiantes.

The departure of Sebastián Valdez to Independiente and Jonathan Rak to Barracas Central opened the door for the young native of Moreno, who established himself as the partner of Lucas Abascia, one of the few survivors of the championship squad.

In this 2025, he stood out as one of the best central defenders in Argentine football, with formidable performances such as the one at Maracanã against Flamengo, where he emerged as one of the team's key figures in Central Córdoba's historic 2-1 victory.

He left Ferroviario with 30 matches under his belt, in which he scored two goals (against Barracas Central and Belgrano) and provided one assist. Additionally, he played all 90 minutes in the six matches of the Santiago team in the Copa Libertadores.

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