Independiente and Racing Club will face each other this Saturday from 5 p.m. at the Libertadores de América Stadium, in a new edition of the “Clásico de Avellaneda”, a match corresponding to date 7 of the League Cup. Throughout history, there are 70 footballers who have worn both shirts, including José Pastoriza, Néstor Clausen, Roque Avallay, Eduardo Domínguez, Hugo Pérez and Ignacio Piatti, one of the last along with Leonel Miranda, who stands out in the Gustavo Costas team.
For Piatti, the Academy was a very important club, since it turned out to be the last of his career in 2021, before hanging up his boots at the age of 36. “He was tired and wanted to quit football. For that reason, I decided not to continue,” revealed the former midfielder, who played 12 games with the white and blue, and scored a goal.
The native of General Baldissera, Córdoba, played for the King of Cups in the 2009/10 season, where he left a very good image and won the affection of the Red Devils. “It was a great year, where we fought for two championships and we had an incredible group. To win things you have to have a nice and united group,” he said at the time.
The Cordoban is Ambassador today of the American League in Argentina, with the idea of promoting the tournament that will begin the season today between Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and Real Salt Lake. In addition, he performs the role of Sports Scouting for the Canadian Montreal Impact, a club where he shone for six years.
In dialogue with Página/12, the former soccer player reviewed his two-decade career. His beginnings in Chacarita Juniors, his glorious stage in San Lorenzo, where he won the 2013 local title and was a key player in winning the 2014 Copa Libertadores, the first for the Boedo club, why his departure from the club “hurt a lot” Cyclone, and the reason for its retirement.
–What is it about your life, Nacho?
–I am away from the fields as a soccer player. But I am still at Montreal Impact working for the club in the role of Ambassador-Scouting. I have a very good relationship with the leaders of the Canadian club. I am looking for talents from Argentina. Furthermore, they recently called me from the MLS to be the ambassador in Argentina and come present the League. I told him I accepted, and at the same time they offered me another position to work on the broadcasts of the American games that I am evaluating. I’m happy with what I’m doing.
Piatti works as a talent detector.
–Did you ever think about being a soccer coach or sports manager?
–Yeah. When I left football, I started thinking about a career as a coach, but it is very similar to that of a football player, where every day you have to go to the Training Center and carry out concentrations. So, today I’m not up to that, because I want to do something else. The position of sports director is different. It could be in Montreal Impact, Canada, where I feel at home. Also, the idea of working for the MLS as a commentator arose.
–Why do you choose Canada over Argentina to live?
–I like Canada for the tranquility and comfort of how it is lived. In Argentina the situation is different. Furthermore, if you are a coach in our country and you don’t achieve results, in two games you will be fired. In the MLS you have more stability in that position, for example, because they are betting on the long-term project. You first present a project, they approve it and give you time to work. It’s okay if you do poorly in two or five games. Those things are respected there and not here.
–What differences exist between MLS and Argentine soccer?
–There are a lot of things: from the infrastructure, the stadiums, to the lifestyles of one country and another. In Argentina there are players, raw materials, but everything else is missing.
–What do you miss about Argentina when you are abroad?
–Affections, family, friends. And the country too. I lived abroad for nine years, in different countries. And every time I return to Argentina, I don’t want to leave because of the customs and the affection I have for it. The truth is that one wants things to go well but hey, I hope things improve.
–Why did you hang up your boots at 36 years old?
–When I left Racing Club, they called me from Chacarita to close my career, but I was already tired and wanted to leave football. For that reason, I hung up my boots and decided not to continue. Chacarita is a club that I love very much. that gave me the opportunity to grow and debut there. Maybe at another time I would have returned to retire, but when they called me I was already tired of football and I said no.
Piatti received a t-shirt from his friend Buffarini.
–Do you miss day-to-day life in football?
–No, not strange. The life I have now means I don’t miss so much. I am with my family, and that makes me not think so much about having left football. Many of my former teammates still play professionally and I see them outside the courts. We stay in touch and see each other when they finish training. It was 20 years lived in a very intense way, and today I am in a stage of changes and I want to do something else; I point to that.
–What is the moment that you highlight the most from those 20 years as a footballer?
–I rescue many moments. For example, when I started in Chacarita, which gave me the opportunity to play in the lower divisions and debut in the First Division. Also, when I later went to Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, through Italia and Independiente de Avellaneda. Also, winning the Copa Libertadores with San Lorenzo de Almagro, which I think about today and it is very difficult to win such an important Cup. Then, my time in Montreal, where I felt very comfortable and did very well. Then, having returned to a club that I wanted like San Lorenzo and ending up at Racing Club; The whole experience was very good.
–Did it hurt you when you left San Lorenzo?
–Yes, it hurt me a lot. I would have liked to have gone differently, but things turned out that way. I arrived and the coronavirus pandemic just hit. She had another year on her contract but it ended as unfortunately it did. People know how much I love the club and the way I left. I gave a lot for San Lorenzo and they let me know it on the street.
–Did you ever return to the New Gasometer?
–No, the truth is that I did not return, neither to the Nuevo Gasómetro nor to another court, I did not go anywhere. But at some point I would like to return to the New Gasometer where I was happy.
2024-02-21 22:39:57
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