“The idea is for the club to continue growing and for that to happen we have to have a policy of being careful and not giving up the soccer players that the market is going to come looking for. Without a doubt there are some soccer players who have a good present, a good future and I think it is time to support them, for them to play in the Copa Libertadores and continue to grow,” he added.
“When I hear that some say that there are priorities, which is the tournament, the Copa Libertadores or the Copa Argentina, then when the competition starts, you have to put the best eleven in all the tournaments. When the games start there is a call, 20 thousand people go and the fan does not like to prioritize, he likes the team to give themselves and win,” he exemplified.
Then he was asked about his opinion of the current situation in Argentine football. “When I started as a player there was a tournament of 38 dates, the first and second went to the Libertadores and there the prizes were cut. But everything is evolving, everything is changing, it is recycled, then the short tournaments began and that dynamic continues to occur in various parts of the world. All the teams have to be on permanent alert,” he said.
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He was later asked about what stands out about his three cycles in Leprosy. “I always took it in the same way, with the same desire, with the same responsibility. I always imagined Independent In First Division, I always saw that the club had potential for that. When we got to the First Division I kept thinking ahead, I am always optimistic and I want the club to be better and grow. Having won this cup with the authority that was won, it is a legitimate cup, no one gave us anything, it was the merit of the footballers. The bar is very high and we have to have a squad that is in line with what these kids gave now, who beat Argentinos Juniors, one of the best teams and that has competed with everyone, except with Boca and Estudiantes, which was difficult,” he said.
In relation to the controversy that arose over the cup that the AFA gave to Rosario Central, he said: “It was a recognition of the best team of the year, there was a vote, each one in their role, if it was something that was consensual, one has to listen and not make a value judgment of everything that happens.”
“I tell the footballers things clearly, I try to be spontaneous, genuine, tell the kids the history of the club and what kind of fans they are going to find, tell them the movie and make them believe it, because it is an important club, which has a lot of fans and if we are all headed in the same direction, it has its reward. The club was able to save itself from relegation 10 or 12 dates before, it fought for the Argentine Cup and won it. What is coming is going to be much harder because everyone is going to want to beat the champion,” he emphasized.
What Berti said about Sebastián Villa
“We are going to see what happens with Sebastián, if they sell him, theoretically it will be an important sale, plus the income that will come in from the Copa Libertadores, we will have to bring players to help us and make a team that is equally competitive. We are going to need 14 or 15 players who are starters,” he said.
Then he referred to the reinforcements that would arrive by saying: “We are looking for full-backs, some holding and offensive midfielder and a couple of forwards on the wing.”
The retirement of Tonetto and Abecasis
He also spoke about the retirement of two blue references by saying: “These are difficult moments for footballers when they have to retire, both Diego (Tonetto) and Luciano (Abecasis) brought a lot of joy to the people and they are always very personal situations that are taken and that must be respected, we hope they enjoy it with their family.”
“In my team there is always room for those who are competitive, I never classify young or old footballers, the only parameter I have is day to day. Last year we took (Luciano) Sábato to the preseason and this time we are going to take him back, he was the scorer of the tournament. In training Sheyko (Studer), Villalba and Leonard Costa did not let him touch the ball and now we will see, if he pushes Sheyko, he scores a couple of goals, he heads and he beats Leonard, it is because he is getting into the conversation of playing in the First Division. The document never matters, (Gonzalo) Marinelli is 38 years old, he came in and saved the penalty and went down in the history of the club,” he stated.
Finally, he referred to a nice event that he experienced with the head of Leprosy, Daniel Vila in the celebrations for winning the Argentine Cup. “I kept the sword, it was a good memory, a good gift from the president, I thanked him and as the years go by it will gain much more emotional value,” he concluded.
