2023-07-05 23:57:30
It arrived as an Argentine promise from Rosario Central. Another of the pearls coming from South America, fresh from winning the Under-20 World Cup and ready to «make forget» Simão on the pitch. She was 20 when she flew to Portugal and entered the doors of European football hand in hand with Benfica. 15 years later, Ángel Di María is about to return to his starting point in Europe.
It was the year 2007 and a new, somewhat troubled season began at Luz. Fernando Santos leaves the technical command of the eagles and José António Camacho returns, in a season that the Benfica fans do not remember in the best way. The early elimination of the Champions League, the lost semi-final of the Portuguese Cup in Alvalade and, still, a disastrous fourth place in Primeira Liga.
Young Di María arrives in Europe for Luz @João Figueiredo
Within a team of small talents, one stood out – that of Ángelito. Joined to be a starter against FK Kobenhavn. Between assists and pieces of brilliance on the field, the little Argentine grew, little by little, with each passing game. Like everyone else, some good games interspersed with more unnoticed performances.
Among coincidences, there is one that holds up to the present day and has a name: Rui Costa. Di María’s first year for the Reds was the last of the current president of Benfica as a professional player. or master He hung up his boots, but never left Benfica and became the Sporting Director of the Reds almost immediately. The similarity? The revolution”.
If 2007/08 was a «snowball effect», in the following season Luz was rebuilding so that in 2009 «the revolution» could be established. Arrivals by Javi García and Javier Saviola, the cementing of Pablo Aimar and the explosion of Óscar Cardozo. All this was a context that helped Di María to shine and, together with the incarnate formation, lift the national champion trophy after five seasons.
He arrived in Luz and the difficulties were in plain sight. In a time when roller coaster mode Di María also suffered. ′′ I played almost nothing and that only made things worse. They had told me that I was coming to play, to be in the starting line-up, and suddenly I was discarded and I started to go to the bench. I suffered a lot, not only for myself, but also for my father», rememberedafter being transferred, at the end of the 2010 season, to Real Madrid.
Won practically everything at Real Madrid @Carlos Alberto Costa
He was one of the most expensive transfers in Portugal to date. 35 million euros, the value of the change to the You meringues. came out of the light with 124 games, 15 goals and 26 assists. The boy flew away, but he never forgot, as he said two years after the transfer. «Benfica will mark me for life and I feel proud of having left a good image and taken the affection of everyone. I feel very loved by the Benfica fans and I value that enormously.”
for Real Madridfollowed by four seasons of high assists and titles. Even so, the eagles remained on his mind. In 2011, in an interview with Radio Nacional de España, he shot: «It was a dream to come here. It was something very beautiful that I achieved in my career and that allowed me to meet great players. But one day, when I leave here, I would like to return to Benfica. It is a place where I have always been welcomed very well.”
Renewed in Spain, but, in 2014, new experience in England and at Old Trafford.
Between murmurs and high expectations
After 190 games and numerous trophies in his personal history at the service of the blancos, Fideo was looking for a new challenge. Suddenly, the doors of the much-desired Premier League opened wide in front of him, through a millionaire proposal from Manchester United.
Between murmurs and high expectations, Old Trafford would end up welcoming the Argentine wizard with open arms, in what was the biggest transfer in English football (until that moment) – 75 million euros.
Season in England didn’t go as expected @Getty / Clive Brunskill
The impact that the ace had on Spanish soil made one believe that, in lands of Your Majesty, history repeated itself. However, the beauty of the king sport means that, sometimes, rationality falls in the face of unpredictability. In his debut season, Di María has one of the least productive seasons of his career: the left-footed player only scored on four occasions and assisted on eleven.
the sweater 7 he was heavily criticized by fansbeing one of those targeted by the poor collective campaign, with Louis van Gaal’s men finishing fourth in the championship.
Discouragement and frustration infected Di María, who was helpless within the four lines. The extreme did not show the ability to unbalance, not even the peaks of magic that characterized his game so well.
Fideo realized that a change of scenery was needed to regain his shine, coming to the conclusion that his future did not pass through Manchester. Hoping to find a new ray of light on his path, the Paris SG has deposited a huge vote of confidence in the strikerpassing a large check to the English formation.
In the first season by parisiansDi María showed that «who knows, doesn’t forget», surpassing his previous personal marks, both in terms of goals and assists – 15 and 25, respectively (40 contributions!).
In a club in transition to become a European colossus, these truly impressive numbers made Di María idolized by the fans, as well as by his own teammates. The truth is that the Argentinian star’s distribution capacity helped his colleague Zlatan Ibrahimovic to reach 50 goals in a single season, a feat he never managed to repeat until the end of his career.
It was back to its prime, continuing to show superb levels season after season. Until 2019/20, Fideo scored 82 goals and 89 assists in 221 matches. This record placed the Argentine on a pedestal where few athletes have the right to be.
He was happy again in Paris and even returned to Lisbon for the Champions League final @Getty / Xavier Laine
In 2020, Benfica reappears. In UEFA interview, Di María recalled the eagles and thanked them for everything they had given him. «Benfica was very important for me and my family. Coming to Europe was a huge leap, and Benfica, which is such a big club, gave me everything. It’s like my first home, it allowed me to win and become the player I am today.”
bad or international albiceleste I knew I would end the season playing in the champions league final… at Estádio da Luz. The memories of the three years lived in Lisbon reappeared and, once again, the past surfaced. «I had a strange feeling when they moved the venue to Lisbon, as it reminded me of the good times I had lived here for three years and how happy I was in Lisbon during that period», remembered.
The season that followed was the end of a cycle, with the five goals and eight assists not convincing the directors to extend the bond at the club. One of the most recent legends of the French club said goodbye with five Ligue 1 titles, five Coupe de France, 4 Trophée des Champions and 4 French League Cups. The Argentine was, without a doubt, one of the main pillars for a marked hegemony of the Red and blue in Gallic lands.
It was not yet time to say goodbye to high European flights. After visiting Portugal, Spain, England and France, it was time for boot country experience strokes of tremendous refinement.
Say Maria went officialized at Juventus, on a brief one-year contract. However, in its presentation to the service of the black and white, revealed: «My friend Rui Costa contacted me and tried to probe my desire to return to Benfica.» It didn’t happen…, at least until then.
@Getty /
Although he was one of the players featured in the v.old ladyas permanent injuries tormented his path: he lost 17 games due to various physical problems.
These obstacles meant that, in the two matches against Benfica, counting for the group stage of the Champions League, the striker only played 32 minutes, having come off the bench in the home defeat (1-2).
With black and white to experience a profound inconsistency, Di María was one of the few athletes who fell in favor of the supporters, being a drop of inspiration in a desert of creativity. With his actions on the pitch, the Argentine contributes with eight goals and seven assists, between short glimpses of his golden times.
The future? Time will tell, but time also seems to have spoken a lot about him. They were brief, but there were several declarations – we don’t say of love, but of gratitude – that the Argentine made in relation to Benfica.
The rumors are back. Di María’s return to Luz does not seem like a utopia. The answer a few days ago? «We are watching», with a torn smile from Ángelito.
*Article originally published on June 26
#vows #love #fulfilled #return #zerozero.pt