The scene is surprising and quickly went viral on social networks. It is seen at Claudio Tapia, the president of the Argentine Football Association, sitting in a seat at the immense and luxurious MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, during the semifinal between Argentina and Canada. Perspiration pours from his head and the drops slide down his neck thanks to the gradient haircut that exposes Chiqui’s skin, a true slide of sweat. Given the inconvenience that could arise from having a wet shirt collar after the game to participate in the protocol meetings with Alejandro Domínguez, president of Conmebol, and other South American leaders; from behind, sitting in the previous row, a man dries the back of his neck with a towel. Servile and loyal, the pro-secretary of AFA and political head of the Department of National Teams, which Omar Souto has led for years. Luciano Miguel Nakis He wrings out the cloth and makes a new pass on the back of Tapia’s neck.
The sequence, in a loop, gallops through the X and Instagram accounts. It reaches the news portals and from the Argentine delegation in Miami they pick up the gauntlet: Tapia and Nakis now star in a new comedy step with a white hotel towel. The president of AFA alleges a flu condition to justify the procedure of Luciano, his right-hand man. “These days I had a lot of fever and discomfort due to the high temperatures. I couldn’t even move and I didn’t want to miss the game. For this reason, Luciano Nakis was there to accompany me”Chiqui wrote at the bottom of a photo in which he is seen with Nakis, the towel and the smiles.
Who is Luciano Nakis? How far do his functions go?
Luciano Nakis is the president of Deportivo Armenio and son of former leader Noray Nakis. In the Copa América, he is in charge of everything that concerns the delegation. Everything that comes or goes regarding the different teams that make up the AFA, whether male or female, passes through him at the Lionel Andrés Messi property in Ezeiza. And currently, he occupies a place similar to the one that Chiqui Tapia once had, in times after the death of Julio Grondona, Normalizing Commission with Luis Segura at the helm. But now with much more “box” available. Tapia quickly took him under his wing.
Luciano Miguel Nakis is 46 years old and his first job was in the family jewelry store on Libertad Street, in downtown Buenos Aires. He learned the business from his father, but he was always linked to soccer through the Armenian community club in Buenos Aires, Deportivo Armenio. Noray Nakis’ role in the club allowed him to set foot in the AFA and there forge a friendship with Julio Grondona. It was Noray who gave Don Julio the famous ring with the phrase “Everything happens”. Noray began the story of him as a traveling salesman and used to say: “If I start selling watermelons on a corner, I can guarantee that I will be the best seller, because I love what I do.”.
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For its part, the Linkedin profile of the man who this Tuesday wiped Tapia’s neck declaims: “I am a businessman in different fields but mainly I am a racial leader. I consider that being a sports leader in Argentina is exercising a vocational role, of constant improvement to lead a club that is much bigger than football. The leaders support, educate and are behind the lives of many families that grow and develop in our clubs and in the community of which we are part.”.
Like thousands of his compatriots, the paternal family of Luciano Nakis – whose original surname is Nakashian – escaped from their home in Sepastia – present-day Sivas, in historic Armenia, today part of Turkey – in the midst of the genocide committed by the Turkish-Ottoman State against the Armenian people between 1896 and 1924. For its part, Nakis’ maternal family arrived from Istanbul. A group of descendants of those survivors of the tragedy, led by Jorge Margossian and Juan Cambachian, founded the Armenian Soccer Club in 1962. Renamed Deportivo Armenian. In 1970 it was affiliated with the AFA to participate in the Amateur tournament, today in First B.
The link with Independiente and the cause that led Noray to jail
In November 2017, when Noray Nakis was Hugo Moyano’s vice president in Independiente, the Justice ruled his arrest for alleged links with the Rojo brava gang commanded by Pablo “Bebote” Álvarez. It was after a complaint made by Aprevide – at that time headed by Juan Manuel Lugones. Nakis fell for some audios that circulated in the media in which he referred to an alleged purchase of a hotel in conjunction with “Bebote”, which for the Guarantees judge of Lomas de Zamora Gabriel Vitale was a sufficient element to dictate preventive detention as a member of an illicit association. For the same reason, about 20 bars were arrested, among them Pablo Álvarez and Roberto “Polaco” Petrov, a custodian of the Moyano.
Noray was acquitted in December 2020 after the ruling of Judge Brenda Madridwhich also acquitted Pablo Moyano – accused of being the boss -, Héctor Maldonado – another historical leader of Independiente – Bebote, Polaco and Nakis, among others. “I paid the price of a fortune. I don’t have a single rejected check. I don’t regret anything I did. I wanted to get Bebote Alvarez out of crime. What the State should do, I had to do.”declared Luciano’s father at that time, whose last public appearance was in May, during the wake of César Luis Menotti.
His son joined the Red List, a historic Independiente group, and today he is opposed by the leadership headed by Néstor Grindetti. Luciano’s ambition is to be president and for this he is preparing with his sights set on the elections that will be held at the club in 2026.. He is very active in networks and is very critical of the current leadership.
However, he was very exposed in the Independiente world and was highly criticized after the scandal unleashed by Carlos Tevez – former Rojo coach – after a match with Barracas Central on the Huracán field. Apache came out to harshly criticize Pablo Dóvalo’s refereeing and the AFA. At that moment he was pointed out by the fans because a video in the Ducó box with Tapia went viral and he received criticism for playing. “from both sides of the counter.”