Gimnasia y Esgrima made a glorious return to the First Division and won 1-0 in their debut in the Professional League against Central Córdoba, in SAntiago del Estero, for the first date of the 2026 season.
The team led by Ariel Broggi surprised from the beginning with clear control and quick exits. After 5 minutes, after a corner from the right, Valentino Simoni He anticipated his marks and, with an impeccable header, opened the scoring, unleashing euphoria on the bench and among the Lobo players.
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A dream comeback
After 42 years of waiting, the young striker’s goal ignited the excitement of the Mendoza club’s return to big-time AFA football. From there, Gymnastics He was encouraged and generated several more chances thanks to the great work of Lencioni, “Zurdo” Ceballos and Linares, complemented by the recovery and anticipation of Ezequiel Muñoz.
Shortly after, a shot by Rodríguez fromand outside the area he demanded of the goalkeeper Aguerre, who sent the ball to the corner; From that action was born the goal that put Lobo in advantage.
Gimnasia de Mendoza and a historic debut in Primera
With the passing of the minutesGimnasia began to feel the wear and tear and gave up some control. Central Córdoba took center stage, but the solid defense of Muñoz and González thwarted local attacks. In addition, César Rigamonti stood out with memorable saves: first in a one-on-one with Varaldo and then stopping a powerful shot by Iacobellis at the end of the first half.
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El Lobo surprised with Simoni
El Lobo once again created danger with Simoni, who once again demanded of the rival goalkeeper. Despite the physical effort and intensity of the expected debut, the Mendoza team managed to go into the break with the lead, closing a dream first half for their return to First Division.
In the complement, Gimnasia lowered the intensity a little and gave control of the game to the local team, who tried to open the game on the wings with Juárez, Barrera and Nayaalthough he always found the Mendoza defense well stopped. The wear and tear and pressure from Ferroviario failed to create clear spaces to worry Rigamonti.
Although the Mendoza team lost prominence in the midfield, it maintained an orderly defensive line and hardly allowed any risky situations. The first arrival of the Wolf in the second half came to 22 minutes with a shot from Cingolani that was well controlled by Aguerre.
With some variations, Broggi managed to recover some prominence in attack and, at the same time, take care of the result against a Central Córdoba that showed a good attitude but lacked offensive depth and weight.
Gimnasia returned to the First Division one night in January and did so with a historic victory in Santiago del Estero, a memorable moment for el Mendoza wolf and his hobby.
Formations
Central Córdoba: Alan Aguerre; Santiago Moyano, Juan Pablo Pignani, Facundo Mansilla, Leonardo Marchi; Marco Iacobellis, Lucas González, Fernando Juárez, Diego Barrera; Lucas Varaldo and Ezequiel Naya. DT: . DT: Lucas Pusineri.
Mendoza Gymnastics: César Rigamonti; Luciano Paredes, Ezequiel Muñoz, Imanol González, Franco Saavedra; Julián Ceballos, Nicolás Linares, Fermín Antonini, Facundo Lencioni; Santiago Rodríguez, Valentino Simoni. DT: Ariel Broggi.
Gol: PT: 5′ Simoni (g).
Changes: ST: 9′ Nahuel Barboza for Antonini (G); 16′ Brian Ferreyra for Simoni (G), Luciano Cingolani for Rodríguez (G); 24′ Horacio Tijanovich for Barrera (C), Fernando Martínez for Moyano (C), 29′ Joaquín Flores for Iacobellis (C), Matías Vera for González (C); 34′ Bautista Gerez for Naya (C); 36′ Juan José Franco for Lencioni (G), Matías Recaldo for Paredes (G).
Basketball court: Mother of Cities (Santiago del Estero).
Referee: Hernán Mastrángelo.
