“He has already shown that he wants to continue competing,” his surroundings told him. Enzo Perez to Clarín. Minutes before, Estudiantes had added their last title after winning the Champions Trophy against Vélez and the midfielder said goodbye to Pincha. I was waiting for a call from Marcelo Gallardo to direct your last dance in Riverabout to turn 39 years old. With the Holiday Doll in a all inclusive of the Caribbean, he wanted that talk, but a few hours before he said goodbye to 2024, the phone rang: the man who is among the heroes of Madrid clarified that he did not demand ownership, but told him that he was not enough to complete the squad. His only request was to fight as equals with his companions. They agreed and this Thursday, January 2, around 10 in the morning, he entered a Buenos Aires clinic to undergo a medical examination before signing his contract with the Millionaire.
He arrived at Núñez in 2017, when he left Valencia in his prime to fulfill his dream, after Gallardo’s call. And it can be said that he won (almost) everything with Millo: he joined in the second part of the process but was part of the historic Libertadores 2018, the one that River won against Boca in Madrid. He also won the South American Cup Winners’ Cup. And in the domestic order, he has twice won the Argentine Cup, two Argentine Super Cups, the same number of Leagues and the Champions Trophy.
As in Estudiantes, it was this last title that marked his departure from River in 2023. Estranged from coach Martín Demichelis, Enzo chose to return to La Plata, where he was also a legend after winning the Copa Libertadores in 2009.
At that time, also at the Mother of Cities in Santiago del Estero, he said goodbye to River in tears after winning the Champions Trophy. The note was that, when he left the field, he did not greet Demichelis and made it clear that he was leaving the club due to his enmity with Micho, a link that broke out after the former coach Millonario was off with journalists.
The question now is whether Enzo is in a position to cope with River’s pace and intensity at 39 years old (he will turn 39 on February 22). But he showed that he is still valid, especially in hot matches, where things are defined, as happened in the Argentine Super Cup against River (until he was on the field, Estudiantes were winning); the League Cup semi-final against Boca and the final against Vélez, in which Pincha was champion; the classic with Gimnasia and this final of the Champions Trophy, in which the team from La Plata also celebrated again against those from Liniers.
Gonzalo Tapia, River’s other novelty
This morning, Gonzalo Tapia also underwent a medical check-up to become a new Millonario player. The 22-year-old Chilean decided not to renew his contract with the Catholic University that expired on Tuesday the 31st to make the jump to Núñez where he arrived free.
The Chilean was Gallardo’s cover in this market. He has scored 11 goals and four assists in 33 games in Chilean soccer. Right-handed, fast, spicy, 1.80 meters tall and always looking for the rival goal, he can play as a winger on both wings and also as a second striker, a position in which Tiago Nunes (DT of the U. Católica) put him this season and in which he performed best: he scored 50% of the goals of his career, among which some very good diagonals and other headers stand out.
The one born in the commune of Recoleta (in the North of Santiago) is one of the great promises of his country and had polls from Brazil and was even close to reaching an agreement with a club from the Netherlands, although the chance of being directed Gallardo seduced him much more to continue his career and achieve the great leap he is looking for.
Gonzalo Tapia is part of the Trans-Andean National Team. Photo: EFE/ Elvis GonzálezNow, River must solve the quota of foreigners. Today he has all six lockers full (the Uruguayans Agustín Sant’Anna, Nicolás Fonseca and Sebastián Boselli, the Colombian Miguel Borja and the Paraguayans Adam Bareiro and Robert Rojas, back at the club after their loan spell with Vasco da Gama, although without be taken into account by Gallardo). In any case, Olimpia of Paraguay, directed by Martín Palermo, wants Robert Rojas and Adam Bareiro so the situation could decompress soon.