Franco Armani renewed his contract with River and spoke about the Superclásico against Boca: “We know what it means”

Leader, emblem, goalkeeper who wins matches, captain and owner of the River goal. And it will be like this until December 2026. Franco Armani He signed the renewal of his contract this Wednesday and then gave a press conference in the Auditorium Hall of the Monumental, in which the Super classic contra Boca which is coming next Sunday in Córdoba, for the quarterfinals of the Professional League Cup.

At 37 years old, Armani is living a great moment. With a high level in River’s goal, permanently summoned to the Argentine National Team – he warned that the Copa América is probably an end of the cycle like for many other members of the Albiceleste – and a present that is in Núñez with the ribbon on the left arm and as an important reference in the locker room.

And this signing comes just before a new clash against Boca, which will be special because it is a direct elimination. “What is coming up this weekend is a very important match, we know what it means to play against the classic rival and even more so in the final stages. Let’s prepare in the best way this week, enjoy it. I recently had the conference before the last classic and they asked me, and I say the same thing: you have to enjoy. The group lives it in a good way, I also said it before. It is a team made up of very good people, very united, and we live the weeks before the classics with joy. Hopefully, God willing, things go well on Sunday and we can qualify. “It’s what we all want: to win this League Cup,” said Armani.

And I add: “I was prepared for the rival that we would face.. It’s an old phrase but if you want to become champion you have to face whoever is your turn. And Boca played. I like it. We know what these kinds of games mean, what they represent, and we are prepared. We are on an upward path, playing good games. “He grabs us in the best way for the classic.”

The River goalkeeper has a balance in favor against Boca. He played 16 games, of which he won 7, drew 6 and only lost 3. And he won two finals, the 2018 Copa Libertadores in Madrid and the Argentine Super Cup in Mendoza, with a notable performance that transformed him into the court figure. That fIt was the last game with both fans in Argentine territory, something that will return next Sunday.

That night of March 14, 2018 at the Malvinas Argentinas, precisely, Armani won the first of the 10 titles he has with River. “When I arrived it was a dream year: we played the Super Cup against Boca, we were champions, also an indelible memory for being champion, but also for the match, Because of how it went, the truth is I had good saves, it went well for me. And then culminate it by becoming champion of the Libertadores, also with your classic rival”, recalled the Casildense.

But Armani doesn’t only think about Boca. Also in the Libertadores Cup, River’s great objective this year. “Both me and my colleagues, and if you ask those who are here they will tell you that they dream about that. It is one of the maximum objectives that one sets at the beginning of the year. Here in River one has to be champion of all the tournaments they play, but one of the maximum goals is the Cup. We know that it is not easy, because there are Brazilian teams that are well armed, and we know how the other teams play against River . It becomes difficult, if you look at the last Libertadores it was difficult for us, because they play River as equals, everyone wants to beat them. But we also have our own thing: a good team, well armed, I fully trust the team we have to fight this Libertadores, but it is little by little. First to qualify from the group stage, match after match. And it is the dream of any footballer to be able to achieve it,” he said.

Escorted by the president of the club, Jorge Britoand the first vice president, Matías Patanian, Armani was moved when they showed him a video of his story. “It’s a boy’s dream to be in River. And there in the video it was clear. There he would have been seven years old, more or less. And from there my dream was to play for River. And from the moment they called me, when I was at Atlético Nacional, first Matías Patanian called me, then Enzo Francescoli and finally Marcelo (Gallardo) called me, I didn’t think about it for a second. When they called I immediately made the decision to come to River to fulfill the dream I had since I was a child.”.

And with respect to so far, which will have him in the Millionaire arch until he is 40 years old (today he is 37 and turns 38 on October 16), the man from Santa Fe commented: “I am happy to extend this link until 2026. The idea was always to stay in River. Even though I had offers from somewhere, who have asked, that was always my intention. Even last year in November we had a meeting with Matías Patanian and I expressed my desire to be able to continue at the institution and finish my sports career. here. With the enthusiasm one always renews and wants to continue with the dream of being able to continue for more. I was just watching the videos and one observes every save, every Cup that we win and it is a motivation to continue, to continue winning things. that makes one happy.”