Buendía, Europa League winner dreaming of River, at Madrid final | OneFootball

After being one of the standout figures for Aston Villa in their Europa League-winning campaign, statements from Emiliano Buendía caused a stir in Núñez. A River fan, the man who opened the final against Friburgo with a goal and an assist said he was at the 2018 Madrid final and that ever since he was a kid he has dreamed of wearing the red sash.

“Obviously, it’s the dream I’ve had since I was a kid. We’ll see what might happen in the future, but it’s always been the club that, ever since I started kicking a ball at 3 or 4 years old, I always dreamed of,” he admitted. And although it’s hard for him to watch matches live, the Mar del Plata native acknowledged that he tried to follow River every weekend.

The four-hour time difference between Buenos Aires and Birmingham works against his fandom, but Aston Villa’s No. 10 still tries not to miss anything. “I don’t watch much, especially River. I follow them, I try to watch the matches. It’s very difficult because of the schedules and getting eight hours of sleep; rest and the time difference are tough. I try to keep up a bit with what’s going on at the club,” he said.

The truth is that, at 29 years old, in the running for a place on the World Cup squad and under contract with Villa until mid-2027, his arrival at River does not seem possible in the short term. A symbol of the club, with 150 matches and the recent title, everything seems to indicate that his career will continue in the Premier League, at least for a few more years.

What they already know in the offices of the Monumental is that if he ever decides to return to Argentina, River will be his top priority. In fact, when asked what he would do if Román (Riquelme, Boca’s president) called him, Buendía was blunt. “No, not there. With all due respect, because I’m someone who respects everything Boca is, but no—River, the only one.”

Buendía and his presence at the Madrid final

Just under eight years ago, when he was playing for Norwich City, Buendía had the incredible luck of being in the Spanish capital at the same time as River’s squad on the eve of the Copa Libertadores final against Boca. “I was playing here in England. It was kind of a crazy story,” he began.

And he continued: “That weekend I happened to be in Madrid with 10 Norwich teammates and we ended up at the exact same hotel where River were staying, and I managed to go watch the match with the River supporters. The trip had already been planned two months earlier, just to spend a weekend in Madrid”. Later, he met Enzo Francescoli (he asked him for a photo) and ended up getting tickets to be at the Santiago Bernabéu. Some say coincidences do not exist; time will tell.

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