Facing Euro 2024 Qualifiers, Italian coach Roberto Mancini turned to Mateo Retegui, a young Tigre striker, to play for the Azzurra. The player said yes. Son of ‘Chapa’ Retegui, former coach of Las Leonas, is the gunner of Transandean football.
THE first date of the FIFA selections in 2023. A first since the World Cup in Qatar, which consecrated Argentina with obtaining the most coveted trophy. There are powers that didn’t go to the World Cup and are in the middle of a rebuilding phase, like Italy . There Azzuri aspire to resume the glorious path which one day enjoyed. Well, recently they were European Cup champions, beating England on penalties, at Wembley, no less. Thing is, that was quickly forgotten when they lost in the World Cup playoffs to North Macedonia. Once again it was left adrift, just like on the road to Russia 2018.
Roberto Mancini remains in charge and leads a restructuring process in the Italian team. In this sense, he has dived under various names to offer transalpine new variants. And in this search he reached the Argentine league. He summoned the Transandean striker Mateo Retegui, scorer of the Tiger, A cast that has had great campaigns since returning to the First Division, but it’s not one of the most popular across the mountain range.
The player was nominated for the start of the Qualified for Euro 2024, which will take place in Germany. There Azzuri The competition will begin on Thursday.hosting England at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples. Then, on Sunday March 26, he will travel to Malta. In Group C, in addition, they share with Ukraine and North Macedonia.
“I am very happy, proud of what is happening to me, both for me and for my family. It’s a very important step and I’m happy to be able to represent one of the most important teams in the world. I appreciate it a lot,” said the footballer, after the list was confirmed.
Mateo Retegui, category 1999, was born in San Fernando, Province of Buenos Aires. His debut in sport was in field hockey, a discipline that his parents practiced. He is the son of Carlos ‘Chapa’ Retegui, who was the coach of the Argentina women’s team (Las Leonas). get a silver medal at the Olympics. of London 2012 and Tokyo 2020, among other achievements. Already in football, he reached the lower ranks of Boca Juniors. It debuted in 2018, by the hand of Guillermo Barros Schilotto.
Without much space in the xeneize store, he was loaned to Estudiantes de La Plata and Talleres de Córdoba respectively. In 2022 he arrived at Tigre and it was at the Victoria club that he was discovered. He was the striker of the tournament in the Professional League last year with 19 goals. This year, he is also the league’s top scorer with six goals. His good performances allowed him to be on the radar of important clubs in the Old Continent. His pass comes from Boca and he’s on loan at Tigre until December 2023. His market value is eight million euros, according to Transfermarkt.
Coach Mancini gave details of the call-up to the player. “In Retegui? We have been following him for a long time. Is young. He has been a regular protagonist for two years in the Argentine league. He has qualities that unfortunately we lack. We thought he didn’t want to come, he immediately said yes and we called him” , he explained in an interview with DAZN. “I think all coaches try to play attacking with empathy for the players. Sometimes you get it, but all coaches are good at it.”
It is not the first time that the Italian team has knocked on the door of Argentine footballers. Previously it happened with the defender Marcos Senese, today at Bournemouth in the Premier League. The defender himself acknowledged the interest, but opted for the Albiceleste. “When I was in the Netherlands (at Feyenoord), Mancini told me that he wanted to count on me. I made the decision with my heart and decided to play for my country, that’s where I want to be.” San Lorenzo-trained Senesi told DSports Radio.
Further back in time there is the acknowledged case of Mauro Camoranesi, is part of the team that emerged as world champions in Germany in 2006. If Mateo Retegui has minutes with the Italian national team, he will be “blocked” and will not be able to be called up, in the long term, by the Albiceleste.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
