Valentin Castellanos is an Argentine footballer who plays in the New York City FC of Major League Soccer, who has become a revelation, since he scored 19 goals in the regular season, also qualifying for the semifinals of the Eastern Conference after eliminating in the Playoffs to the Atlanta United.
Thanks to his contribution to the front, the forward is closely followed by the Manchester City from England, nothing crazy after having achieved the Golden Boot on the MLS.
Here are five things you might not know about the network breaker:
Don’t forget to also follow us on our Instagram account, 90min_es, and our Twitter account, @ 90minespanol!
Born in Guaymallén, Mendoza, Argentina, Valentín began his path in the Murial, amateur club of the Second Division of the Mendoza League. As a teenager, he decided to cross the Andes Mountains because a historical University of Chile, Diego Rivarola, he offered his coach, Tony torres, to do tests, staying and consolidating on Andean soil, precisely with La U.
After that, he went to Uruguay on a loan to wear the colors of the Montevideo City Torque, equipment owned by the NYCFC.
During his time in Uruguayan football, he received the distinction of Young Talent of the Month for June 2018, in addition to helping his squad to achieve promotion to First.
Its discoverer was Leopoldo Luque, 1978 World Cup champion with Argentina, because he trained eight-year-old boys in a soccer school in Mendoza. At that time, Castellanos was five years old, but because of his age they would not let him and even so, when the strategist saw him, he noticed his conditions and expressly requested it.
Not everything was successful for the attacker, because at 16 he was tested in River Plate, being rejected after the second filter, he also tried in Lanús, being rejected also because of his physique, that was what led him to leave for Chile, where he even he was tempted to wear the red coat.
For six months he shared a dressing room with the Spanish, world champion in South Africa 2010.
Regarding the forward, the South American has good memories of him, declaring to Infobae: “When I arrived, he was in the gym because he was recovering from a knee problem and when he saw me stretching, he grabbed me from behind, gave me a hug and said ‘Welcome Tati!’ That threw me off. He was the captain of the team and I couldn’t believe it! “.
Valentin considers New York an incredible city, although he emphasizes that soccer is not lived with as much passion in the United States as in his native country, Argentina.
However, the player enjoys not being so well known in the middle because that way he can lead a fairly normal life, such as going to the cinema or a restaurant.
One of the tastes that the pampero could already give himself is that he was able to wear the elastic of his country in the U-23, which happened in 2020, precisely for the South American pre-Olympic, held in Colombia.
He was taken on the tour that visited Spain and Mexico, forming part of the group that could qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Castellanos burst into tears upon receiving the award from the MLS and it was not for less, because he became the first Argentine to win the award.
Besides, the competition was close, because at the end of the last day he tied in goals with the Norwegian Wave kamara of the DC UnitedHowever, the tiebreaker criterion was through assists, where he registered eight and was able to stay with the Golden Boot.
In the first four games, he only scored once, but then he hit a nine-goal streak in eleven games, from July 25 to September 22.
In addition to this, through his goals, the Argentine has raised a total of $ 19,500 for the academies of the MLS, which help the formation of new values within the North American competition.
For more from Mauricio Gasca, also follow him on Twitter as @Melocrab!
#Valentín #Castellanos #Argentine #MLS #scorer #reach #Manchester #City