Matias Mansilla He saved three penalties in the final against Vélez and was the hero of Estudiantes, who won the League Cup in Santiago del Estero, after beating the Liniers team from the 12th minute after 1-1 in the 120 minutes of the match . However, This 28-year-old from Santiago was not in anyone’s plans. Except for Eduardo Domínguez, who opted for him to replace no less than a historical figure like Mariano Andújar
“I am very happy, many things come to mind. I am from Santiago and I am a champion here, it is exciting,” said the Pincha goalkeeper. And he added: “We went to play as equals on all fields, because we have a terrible humility. “We beat the best.”
His arrival at Pincha was particular: It occurred after the first date of the tournament, in which He saved for Central Córdoba in Santiago del Estero, his previous club. And also after Vélez looked for him. Yes, the rival he embittered in the final. “Before coming here, I was very close to having gone to Vélez. They told me that they only needed confirmation from the coach (Gustavo Quinteros) and then it didn’t happen… That’s why I want to thank Domínguez and Verón for the trust they gave me,” Mansilla said.
Mansilla’s career seems to be made up of curiosities. The thing is that a few years ago this present could have been unthinkable. Especially when, in 2021, his career was about to collapse after a series of unusual errors.
Three years ago, the now champion goalkeeper saved in Deportivo Morón, in the Primera Nacional, the second category of Argentine soccer. And it lasted only one semester, after they scored unusual goals, two of them against Gimnasia de Jujuy in the Tacita de Plata.
In that match, which Morón lost 2 to 0, The first goal was scored after he stopped almost on the edge of the large area against a rival side.. Outcome? with the ball inside his goal. And in the second half, they scored a goal from the side of the field, from approximately 80 meters! away. And in another match against Villa Dálmine, he also went far to try to cross to the middle of the field but he didn’t get there and they also scored on him from a distance.
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The incredible goals that Mansilla suffered in Morón
In the middle of that year, he left Morón and, in a move by his representative, landed at Patronato de Paraná.
And he spent a year and a half in the Entre Ríos team and although he was a substitute, he was able to celebrate a title: the Argentine Cup, in 2022. And in 2023, he moved to Central Córdoba. He returned to Santiago del Estero, his birthplace. From that province he had arrived as a boy with his parents to settle in Libertad, a city in the western suburbs of Buenos Aires.
It started in Midland, the area club. And there too his career could go awry. In Sixth he didn’t save and wanted to ask for a pass. But the secretary of the institution did not give it to him and bet on him, on his conditions. He ended up reaching First Division and being captain of the team. Although, after several years under the three sticks of Midland, His departure was controversial since he reported that a contract had been falsified. He ended up leaving and signing in Morón, in the middle of 2020.
Now, Mansilla is a hero of Estudiantes, through his specialty: penalties. The statistics show it: of the 30 that were kicked at him in his career, he stopped 10 (and 3 were deflected). That is, he contained a third of the shots. And with the three that he saved in the Madre de Ciudad de Santiago del Estero, after fighting it from the mud of Ascenso, he is the champion goalkeeper of Argentine soccer.