Several Argentine soccer players stood out in the 6-0 beating that the team led by Diego Placente scored against Brazil in his debut in the South American U-20 Championship that is being disputed in Venezuela. one of them was Valentino Acunawho already shone in the under-17 team and last year took his first steps in the Newell’s first team. Talented, from Rosario and trained in the leprous inferiors, some compare him with Lionel Messi. Beyond these daring comparisons, the midfielder has already played the role of Leo: it was in a Spanish documentary that recounts his beginnings as a footballer.
Member of a “leprous family until death”, as defined a year ago, The left-handed Acuña kicked a ball for the first time at the age of three at the Bancario de Rosario club. and a few months later he joined the Malvinas Argentinas Children’s Soccer School, which belongs to Newell’s. At the age of eight, he received an offer from a talent scout, but not to take him to another club, but to play Messi. A proposal that not everyone has the luxury of receiving.
It all arose from several videos published on YouTube in which you could see his quality on a court. They reached the hands of the production company Mediapro and the director of the documentary, Alex de la Iglesiawho did not hesitate to contact the Leprosy youth coordinators to contact the boy. Or as he described it, with “the double play of Messi that we are looking for.”
His age, his left-footed technique and his ability to dribble made Valentino the ideal candidate for this character. The boy did not hesitate to accept the proposal and that is how, without casting involved, Gustavo, his father, agreed with the production company for his son to play Messi. The dream of thousands.
For being his double in play, Valentino’s face was not shown at any time in the film in which the main character was played by Juan Ignacio Martín. However, in every scene in which little Messi appeared playing and dribbling on the fields of Club Abanderado Grandoli, his first team, and Newell’s, Valentino was the one wearing the number 10 shirt.
After showing his football skills to the camera, Acuña continued to grow at Newell’s, first in the children’s divisions and then in the lower divisions. Although he started playing as a forward, his coach in the Novena, Marcelo Belluschi, delayed him a few meters and then he began to perform in the position in which he currently does. In December 2022, when he played in the Séptima led by Diego Mateo, signed his first professional contract.
By then he was already part of the under-17 team led by Diego Placente. In 2023, he was the champion in the South American Championship that was held in Ecuador and He had an outstanding performance at the World Cup in Indonesiain which the Albiceleste finished fourth. In that tournament, he scored a goal in the group stage match against Japan. “Scoring a goal with this shirt in a World Cup, with my family present, is something that I will never forget in my life,” he assured that day.
Placente’s continuous summons, first for the U-17 and then for the U-20, allowed Acuña to fulfill another dream: to coincide with Messi on the grounds of the Argentine Football Association. On one of those occasions, the kid from Newell’s asked the captain for a photo.
Last year, Acuña achieved another of his great desires: debuted in the first Newell’s. It was on September 15, in the match that the Rosario team lost 3 to 0 against Argentinos Juniors at the Diego Armando Maradona for the 14th round of the Professional League. That day, he came on for Matko Miljevic nine minutes from time. He then added experience in four other matches in that competition.
Valentino Acuña poses with Lionel Messi at the AFA grounds. With that short experience behind him, but with a long journey in the youth teams, Acuña now has the challenge of leading the Placente team in this South American which will grant four places for the World Cup in Chile. The first step, against Brazil, was very firm and one of those responsible for it was Lionel Messi’s double play.