How the two Libertadores who won at the club remembered

Leonardo Ponzio and Jonatan Maidana are two of River’s glories. After all, both are among the winningest footballers in history. Leo is at the top with 17 and Jony is close behind since he has 16, the same titles as Angel Labruna. The former central midfielder has already retired and now works in the technical secretariat of the Núñez club. And the central marker will stop wearing the red band at the end of the year, while he defines his future. Both were together in an intimate talk called “An experience for the ages.”

The event, moderated by the actor and producer Pedro Alfonso, was held at the Monumental as part of the “Meet your idol” cycle, organized by Codere, the club’s main sponsor. And both Millionaire glories were summoned for a talk with the fans.

The one who started the dialogue was Maidana, who joked about what is coming for him. “Surely we’re going to be hanging around here, to see if they put me in Senior for a while, ha,” she said, laughing. And he added: “Hopefully I can continue linked to the club, to this institution that made me so happy, and that helped me grow as a person above all things, which is what I value most, beyond the titles and what one He has won here.”

The defender projects a future within the institution. In that sense, he commented: “There are many people who are behind who make one dedicate themselves only to training and playing. But I also know that my end is coming here in the team, in the club. Later I will decide if I continue playing for a little while longer or not, but tomorrow when I retire I hope it will be here. I will do the necessary merits, I will try to prepare myself as best as possible to have some experience in youth or somewhere in the club where I can be useful, and if I can be well and comfortable, I am welcome, it is a pending account for the future.”

When remembering their two stages in Núñez, both Maidana and Ponzio made reference to the final against Boca of the 2018 Copa Libertadores in Madrid, which marked five years on December 9. “We lived it a bit like a study trip, everything was given, there was a very good harmony and winning it was an incredible happiness. Some people’s children were playing ball behind the plane, you plan it again and it doesn’t turn out like that!” Ponzio recalled.

And Maidana added: “Winning that match at the Bernabéu was also a backpack that one took off. That game will always be talked about, it was a privilege to have been on the field. Today I can go out on the street and walk calmly: if it had been the other way around it would have been very hard because these games are the ones that will always stand out to you later, luckily it was on our side.”.

Jony was also asked about the kick against Tevez in the first leg at La Bombonera, which ended with Armani’s save on Benedetto. “I went to cut the play, I was a little slow there, but thank goodness Tevez continued and ended like that. Because if I didn’t miss the return haha. If you think about it coldly, it could have been red if I hit him, but at the moment I wanted to cut, thank goodness he didn’t jump,” commented the footballer whom Marcelo Gallardo nicknamed “faithful warrior”.

Among the anecdotes of that Cup, we could not miss the halftime at the Arena do Gremio in Porto Alegre for the semifinals, with the emergence of Gallardo. “In that game, what happened made you want to be there; He was sent off and we had started well in the first half, I got injured and had to leave, and I actually don’t remember very well what he said, but Marcelo had a way of being that always explained very well to us what was happening, what “What was happening and the topic happened there”Ponzio began to remember.

And Maidana continued: “Knowing Marcelo, it was known that he was going to go down at halftime and he was going to give us the points ha. He pushed the team forward, he conveyed confidence that things were going to turn out well, that we would only think about that. I remember that he conveyed calm, that we were going to win the game: he had a lot of confidence in the squad and his team, he always showed it.”.

When they were asked about the second title that they most valued in their time as club players, they both agreed on the first Copa Libertadores, won three years before. “After Madrid I’ll stick with the 2015 Cup, with that match with Tigres. Because of the setting, because of everything that was at stake, and because it was an incredible match. Below Madrid, obviously, but it is on the podium of the titles I had at the club”Maidana stated.

And Ponzio joined in: “I also choose the 2015 Cup. When I arrived at River in 2007, the first thing you always heard was that the Libertadores was an obsession, in the halls of the club, on the field, everyone told you that you had to win it. It all started in 2014 with the Sudamericana, but the 2015 Cup was very important for us after not winning it for a while. And at the same time we were worthy of doing it because we had a way of playing and being that led to us always leaving everything and that’s how it was.”.