Yet another rising star of Argentine football is set for Europe at a very young age. Sergio Romero, Racing’s stand-in goalkeeper, is 19 years old and has played one match for the first team. Yes, a 19-year-old goalkeeper. Yes, one match. And after a successful medical he’s now all set to move to AZ Alkmaar of Holland, for €1.45m (around £1m / US$1.9m).
So, this is the latest in a long line of Argentine youngsters moving to European clubs at ridiculously young ages. In Romero’s case, before he’s even broken into his own club’s first team. Large numbers of young Argentine players have made the move to Europe in recent years, often thanks to the agents who own their registrations wanting to cash in. The result has often been an extended period on the bench due to lack of development, and a subsequent failure to live up to what might have been. A few extra years playing first-team football in their own country would do far more. But money speaks loudest, these days.
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Crazy. He hasn’t even been tested at the highest level yet.
Speaking of goalkeepers, I assume it’s just a matter of time before both Ustari and Carrizo are playing their trade in Italy or Spain. River narrowly dodged a bullet from Milan last month when they re-signed Dida, but it wont be long before clubs come knocking. Of River’s many problems on the pitch at the moment, JP Carrizo is certainly not one of them.