Atlético Nacional: the club’s foreign forwards in the last 15 years – Colombian Soccer – Sports

The arrival of Jonatan Álvez to Atlético Nacional opens the discussion on the effectiveness of foreign strikers who come to the Antioquia team. Since 2005, 11 foreign attackers have passed, of which only a couple were able to stand out; Sergio Galvan Rey between 2006 to 2008 and Ezequiel Maggiolo between 2009 to 2010.

From there, Peruvian, Argentine, Paraguayan and Brazilian players have passed, who came through the big door and left with more pain than glory, then some of those players who came to the purslane team.

Marcelo Ramos (Brazil)

With the former teammate of Víctor Aristizábal, Atlético Nacional cut a cycle that lasted more than a decade with the policy of ‘pure criollos’, in terms of the attack front, because in 2004 the Argentine midfielder Hugo Morales had arrived. Between 2005 and 2006, Ramos played 32 games and scored seven goals, although where he most stood out was as a second striker or companion, where he combined his game with Sergio Galván Rey and Aristizábal himself.

(Read also: The goal ‘maradoniano’ that goes around the world)

Sergio Galván Rey (Argentina)

After leaving his mark on Once Caldas, Galván went to MLS just before the ‘white white’ conquered the continent. In 2006 Nacional hired him and in two years with the purslane he scored 56 goals, playing 178 games. The ‘king of goal’, he won the 2007 two-time championship and fans still remember him fondly.

Carlos Villagra (Paraguay)

After passing through Millonarios and with the memory of being a key player in the 2006 champion Deportivo Pasto, Carlos Villagra arrived as one of the reinforcements for the 2008 Copa Libertadores. The Paraguayan played 18 games and scored four goals. Little and nothing for the now assistant of Aldo Bobadilla.

Ezequiel Maggiolo (Argentina)

The Argentines and Atlético Nacional generally get along very well. The ‘lettuce’ arrived in 2009 in the company of his compatriot, goalkeeper Gastón Pezzuti. Between 2009 to 2010, Ezequiel Maggiolo scored 17 goals in 51 games. Many fans wonder what would have happened to him, with a more competitive team that arrived years later. He is also fondly remembered by green fans.

Marcos Mondaini (Argentina)

The Argentine arrived in conditions similar to Álvez’s, he appears in Ecuador and a strong commitment from Nacional to increase his attack. However, he played 38 games and scored four goals. He returned to Ecuador where he stood out in Emelec and in 2020 he retired from professional football with Guayaquil City.

(Further: See Duván’s double and Muriel’s goal in Atalanta’s win)

Johan Fano (Peru)

The ‘hawk’ was one of the figures that Atlético Nacional hired for 2012. He did not manage to adapt to Santiago Escobar’s scheme and neither did he manage to show the numbers of ‘killer’ he had in Once Caldas and Atlante de México, clubs where he was featured. . He played 21 games and scored three goals, all in the Colombia Cup. Currently, he works in Colombia as a technical trainer at Águilas Doradas, a club where he stood out.

Pablo Zeballos and Pablo Velásquez (Paraguay)

At the beginning of 2015 and after the subtitle in the South American Cup, Atlético Nacional was reinforced for the Copa Libertadores with two Paraguayan forwards who arrived with a lot of poster. Pablo Zeballos figures in his country and in Brazilian soccer and Pablo Velázquez, scorer in Mexico. The ‘Guaraní’ experiment ended in the worst way, Zeballos played 15 games and scored five goals, while Velázquez played 16 games and scored three goals. They were very expensive players for the club economically and sportingly.

Ezequiel Rescaldani (Argentina)

In the middle of the break between the quarterfinals and the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores 2016, the Argentine Ezequiel Rescaldani arrived at Atlético Nacional. Who was supported by his beginnings in Vélez Sarsfield where he was a figure. The double that marked Deportes Tolima in the League was a tremendous appetizer and probably that he was going to respond on the offensive front. However, half of his effectiveness was spent in that match, as he barely scored four goals in 25 games played with the Antioqueños. After several years and many loans, he ended up with the pass in hand.

Óscar Franco (Paraguay)

For 2017, Atlético Nacional hired two Argentines from Fortaleza de Bogotá. Paraguayan Óscar Franco and Argentine midfielder Mariano Vásquez. Both had little continuity and failed to adapt to the green set of Antioquia. In Franco’s case, he played six games and scored one goal. Currently, he plays in the rise of his country.

Hernán Barcos (Argentina)

The desire of many pass markets for Atlético Nacional, crystallized in 2019, when Hernán Barcos arrived at the Antioquia team. The Cordoba was sold as a scorer, but he played better as a hitch, due to his age and that he did not have the same physical rest of other years. The ‘pirate’ played 51 games and scored 15 goals. After a stint at the Bashundhara Kings of Bangladeshi football, he ended up at Messina in Italy, a club where he has not made his debut so far.

Patricio Cucchi (Argentina)

In the second half of 2019, Patricio Cucchi arrived at Nacional from Gimnasia y Esgrima de Mendoza, a club where he was a top scorer in the Argentine second division. Cucchi with the purslane, played 13 games and scored three goals. In 2020 he was loaned to Independiente Santa Fe, where he scored some goals, including one with which he qualified Nacional for the Copa Libertadores 2021. The player returned to the Antioquia team, where he hopes to stay this season and take revenge.

(In other news: Poll: unexpected result on whether Messi should stay in Barcelona)

Jonatan Álvez would be the 24th Uruguayan to play with Atlético Nacional, the previous ones were: Juan Carlos Toja Pintos, Julio Ulises Terra, Rodolfo Labrucheri, Tabaré Suárez, Alejandro Barrios, Raúl Ferreira, Juan Pedro González, Walter Mosquera, Luis Alberto Desevo, Héctor Omar Diano, Raúl Smoris, Néstor Martínez, Gualberto García, Eduardo Restivo, Néstor Morelli, Rubén Cantera, Nelson Silva Pacheco, Ricardo Viera, Nelson Gutiérrez, Juan Carlos Paz, Sergio Rodolfo Santín, Lorenzo Carrabs and Pablo Ceppelini.

In his last club, Barcelona de Guayaquil, Jonatan Álvez played 30 games and scored eight goals.

Juan Camilo Alvarez Serrano
FUTBOLRED correspondent
Medellin
En twitter: @juanchoserran8
* Data: Javier Danilo Correa, on twitter: @jdanilocorrea