River Plate fans now officially know that their biggest star Julian Alvarez is not staying at the club for long, as following a deal with Manchester City, he’s set to move to the Premier League this year.
That’s another reason for the local media to continue writing about the centre-forward. And today, La Pagina Millonaria features an interview with the man who ‘discovered’ the youngster’s talents.
The outlet had a podcast with Piero Foglia, from Deportivo Atalaya. He now works as their sports director, and told the entire story of how he brought Alvarez to the club.
“Yes, a referee who directed Calchín at that time tells the president of the club to tell me about a boy who stood out a lot. We contacted each other and I invited Gustavo, Julián’s father, to bring him to Córdoba to see him with us,” Foglia told La Pagina Millonaria.
“I quickly saw an outstanding footballer, what surprised me the most was the level of concentration that he has. It’s difficult to find an athlete who is focused from minute 0 to 90. That and the definition are two distinctive traits.
“So you quickly saw that he was focused on the game, that he had a more important vision of the game than the rest. Two or three things that made you believe that he was going to be an important footballer. Talking with the father and mother, there I proposed to put together a project with him.”
Foglia was also asked about the Manchester City move. He claims to be happy about it, especially because of the similarities between Pep Guardiola and River Plate boss Marcelo Gallardo.
“I always talked to Gustavo because with Julián I didn’t want to be invasive so that he wouldn’t get out of focus. It seems to me that it is the correct sale because he goes to a club that have a coach who has a similar style to Gallardo’s. They will be different in some matters, but they are similar. He’s going to make him grow in a more dynamic football, the most important in the world, where his teammates and rivals are all elite.
“He’s going to give him more growth, he’s going to need an adaptation, but he’s prepared. I think that this semester of River is also going to help him because’s is calm because the sale is already done. He is not going to have problems at City because he has the conditions to succeed.”
Following Manchester City’s €17m deal to sign Alvarez, it’s still not exactly known when the player will complete the move to England. Reports from Argentina have been claiming that could happen in the summer or at the end of the year, depending on how River Plate do at the Copa Libertadores and on Pep Guardiola’s urge to bring him.
