There are players who know how to get into the heart of the fan with just one maneuver on the court. A dribble. A pass. Or a goal in which the ball hits the horizontal and falls asleep at the net, after its author defeats three rivals on the way, at a time when the game requires genius.
That happened to Déinner Alexánder Quiñones Quiñones, the 25-year-old winger who came to América this season and in just two games has told the Devils not to miss Duván Vergara or Santiago Moreno so much, because he also knows how to steal feelings.
He was born in a village in Tumaqueña where he left when he was barely 12 years old, in search of happiness summarized in a ball. Because that is for Déinner football. Joy.
He walked through various teams in Colombia (Universitario de Popayán, Quindío, Jaguares, Medellín and Nacional) until he made the leap to Mexican soccer. Santos Laguna did not make use of the purchase option and returned to his homeland, where Professor Juan Carlos Osorio has become more than just a technician for him. That is why he is in America. And here, he says, he found that happiness once lost.
How does Déinner get to the ball?
I was born in Imbilí la Vega, a village in Tumaco, and from a very young age I felt that I had qualities for soccer. At about 7 years of age I began to play it more consistently, they told me that I was doing very well and I decided to come to Cali to look for a better future, the future of a child who wanted to be a professional player, and thank God I managed to achieve it.
At 7 years old, what dream did Déinner have, to be like what player?
My reference has always been Ronaldinho, I liked how he had fun playing football and I try to do that.
His happiness is the ball …
It has always been, football was my fun when I was in my town and it is now that I am a professional, although with a degree of greater responsibility. I like my job.
I read that you feel indebted to Professor Osorio. Why?
When he and I met at Atlético Nacional I felt that I had not given what he expected. And I knew I could give more, but I didn’t. So now we meet again in America and I must pay off that debt, I think things are being done well.
Why didn’t it give what was expected?
When you get to a new place you have a period of adaptation and I think I did not do well. Unfortunately for the moment that process was not waiting, the pandemic arrived and that made things worse.
Is Osorio more than a technician for Déinner?
Yes, it is like a father. My relationship with him has been very good on and off the pitch. He gives me a lot of confidence, he advises me very well and add to him what he knows about football. So, you take advantage of that a lot as a player and as a human being.
What has Osorio given you?
He always tells me that the main thing is the family, that it is the permanent support of one. She tells me to fight for her and for my dreams.
How is your family made up?
I live with my wife and my two children, they are my driving force, they are the people I fight for every day. And on my sidewalk are my parents and my brothers, we are four children and I am the third. They stayed there since I had to leave my town.
Did you have to leave due to a risk situation?
No, because there are no possibilities to grow like here in Cali, so I came to this city, which I love very much, in search of being a professional player and here I fulfilled that dream.
But he made his debut in Popayán …
But before I came to America in 2007. I was on trial for fifteen days and I passed, but I had to leave.
For what reason?
Because they didn’t help me with anything, neither with housing, nor a family home, it was very difficult for me then, because I had nowhere to stay. And then I went to Boca Juniors in Cali and Don Hernando Ángel helped me, he gave me all the tools to go in search of my dream.
How did it help you?
He has been very important in my soccer process, he gave me what I needed, shelter, food, and that, when one is starting and comes from a distant sidewalk, it is key, because you do not have the necessary resources and you need a hand to supply those needs.
In 2018 he made the leap to Mexico, a highly desired league, what happened that did not stay at Santos Laguna?
I stayed for a year, it went very well. I had signed a contract for three more years because they were going to make use of the purchase option, but at the end of the loan year there was a change of technician, that abruptly changed the club’s decision to buy me and I had to return.
How have you felt in this renewed America?
Very well, I feel at home, because in addition to the team, I like this city a lot, I know the coaching staff and there are teammates with whom I have already shared on other teams.
What does Cali have that you like so much?
I love it for everything, its people, its music, its joy. This city reminds me of my beginnings.
What music do you hear?
The sauce, of course, the sauce.
What an artist?
The Lebrón Brothers, unmatched.
If on the court he plays with such ease and joy, on the court he must be a top …
Let’s say I defend myself.
And that haircut? Where did you copy it from?
He is Jamaican, I saw him out there on social media, I liked him and I did it to myself. I like the culture of Jamaica.
So you must also like the music of Bob Marley …
I do not reach that level, but something like that.
Returning to the ball, that great goal that scored Águilas, after leaving three rivals on the court, did the play arise at that moment, was it spontaneous?
They are plays that one practices a lot in training. I like to send a lot of center to my teammates and before that play the ‘teacher’ Osorio approached me and told me to face it, to do mine, and that opportunity presented itself and well, I did what the coach told me. Fortunately I defined well.
You score goals, but you are not the team’s scorer. Do you like to put them more?
I like to make assists much more, to give my teammates a goal, and when I have the opportunity, then to score, as I did against Águilas.
He celebrated by making a gesture of victory with both hands, but down. What does that celebration mean?
There are two letters ‘A’: Alaia and Alan. Alaia is my 8 month old daughter and Alan is my 4 year old son.
What does that name mean, Alaia?
In Arabic it means “sent from God.”
What is God for Déinner?
Joy. I pray to him a lot.
What do you ask when you pray?
Give me health, the rest I fight.
And Déinner? Where did that name come from?
To date, I don’t know. But I really like it. It is exclusive. Dream pretty. True?
.
