EX RIVER
Tomás Pochettino, who had a weak season at River, scored a double and gave an assist in Fortaleza’s win against Palestino for the Copa Sudamericana.
His arrival at River generated a lot of excitement. Because of what he had demonstrated with the Defense and Justice shirt and later in Talleres, but above all because of his desire to put on the red band beyond his Boquense past. Tomás Pochettino showed some glimpses of his hierarchy in the first games, but it faded as the games went by. To the point that Marcelo Gallardo did not even include him in the concentrates in recent months.
Since the Millionaire did not make use of his purchase option, the new coaching staff of Martín Demichelis decided to release him prematurely and he was not part of the squad that worked in San Luis during the first stage of the preseason. In those last days of 2022, he began to negotiate with other teams, until he got a chance that seduced him: Juan Pablo Vojvoda, DT who already knew him from his time at Halcón de Varela, called him to join Fortaleza on loan, one of the revelation casts of Brazilian soccer. And the former River did not hesitate to accept the proposal.
Finally, Tomás Pochettino joined the team from northern Brazil and this Wednesday night he made his international debut. Fortaleza thrashed Palestino 4-0 for the first date of Group H and the Argentine midfielder had a lot to do with it. Toto entered 28 minutes into the plugin and on the first ball he touched he scored his team’s second goal. Already in discount time, the native of Rafaela established the final 4-0 in the last play of the match.
The statistics of Tomás Pochettino’s match are huge: The former River not only scored 2 goals, but they were also his only two shots on target (100% effective in this area). In addition, he gave an assist and completed 4 correct passes. It only took him 16 minutes to become the figure on the field and leave behind the pale image left by his last step with the Millionaire.
