Who is Gabriel Aranda, the Boca youth who signed a contract and shines in Reserve

He is 20 years old, plays as a central marker and has been in Boca since 2015. He has already played two games in the First Division and, little by little, he begins to ask for a clue.

Gabriel Aranda He is one of those youths from Boca whose scandalous elimination from the Copa Libertadores that Xeneize suffered in Brazil, at the hands of Atlético Mineiro, changed their lives for the better. Is that, thanks to that episode, The central marker was able to make his debut in the First Division and demonstrate a potential that led him to sign his first professional contract and has him as one of the key players in the Reserve of Hugo Ibarra and Mauricio Serna.

This young defender from barely 20 years was born on April 16, 2001 in Ezeiza, Argentina. In 2015, at just 14 years old, he arrived in Boca, where he took his first steps in the Novena, lower division of inferiors. From there, and based on effort, he climbed category by category until he reached Reserve. On July 24, without any warning, He was presented with the opportunity that every boy dreams of when since arriving at a club: debut in the First Division.

With the professional staff isolated in a hotel due to the incidents in Brazil, Reserve youth had to face Banfield, for the second round of the Professional League, and Aranda played as a starter. The team played a great game and took a point from the South. Three days later, the kids, with the Pola – nickname by which they are known – as the starter, faced the Primera de San Lorenzo. The classic ended with a defeat, but the experience lived almost did not give rise to bitterness.

Since those days, Aranda has not stopped growing. He went from being a substitute for Nicolás Valentini in Reserve to becoming a key piece of the defense from a team that has been undefeated for nine games and, with one game less, is six points behind the leader Estudiantes.

As if this were not enough, last Thursday, October 7, he signed his first professional contract with Boca. “Gabriel Aranda, a 2001 center-back who has been at the club since 2015, signed a contract until December 2025, together with Raúl Cascini from the Football Council. Congratulations, Pola!”wrote the Xeneize on his Twitter account.

Hours after hooking the link, the central marker played in Reserve against Lanús and he demonstrated to the Football Council the decision to retain him for four more seasons was correct: with the match 0-0, Aranda rose higher than all in a corner kick and opened the head marker. Finally, the team of Ibarra and Serna would end up winning 5-0.