Youth coaches often say that skill is 5% of the conditions to reach the first league and be a figure in professional football. The rest is training, discipline, work, persistence, will, care… and passion. Without passion, there is no chance of success. Not in any line of life, except in the lottery. You can buy a ticket without passion and win the first prize. Colombian Juan Fernando Quintero turned 31 on Thursday. There is rarely a player who is so luxurious, so incredibly gifted, so full of possibilities. From the cradle, he brought out the only thing that cannot be bought or learned: quality. One such pearl is among millions. His left leg is comparable only to that of César Cueto, that of Maradona, that of Messi. It’s a joy to see him carry the ball like he’s skating on grass with skates, superior in that regard to James Rodríguez, just in case. In elegance, it doubles it. Dribbling technique, subtle, beautiful shot. But Juanfer’s career has slipped away – he has been in the first division for fifteen years – and he has not achieved the minimum goals expected of crack those dimensions.

Soccer player over soccer players

This is not criticism: it is regret, shame, loss. Watching him take the ball to Juanfer is fascinating; Therefore, more is required from this type of football player. A real football fan is happy when something happens, in any club or country. He enjoys it. Hence the disappointment. The least that could be expected from Juanfer is that he will play twelve-fifteen years in Europe, be the idol of a big club, win many titles, help the national team win a trophy. But no: they were isolated drops of brilliance, sparks or sparks. His wanderings through teams and countries without settling in any one, he was a substitute for most of his career, either because he didn’t have the attitude or the physical build or because the coaches didn’t see him starting as a starter. Transfermarkt He has 335 club matches and 17,249 minutes on the field. That translates to 191.6 complete games. Very little in fifteen years of recording. Lots of matches. The last fifteen minutes, the final 30… The same in goals, 56, an average of 3.7 goals per year.

Synonym of nation

“And the great goal scored by Boca in the final of the Libertadores…?” asks the tweeter. Wonderful, determined. But due to the capacity, there must have been dozens of them; the rest is on one. And pay attention, he is still at the age to give football, to achieve things. It’s in. The same thing happens with headlines. Yes, he won the Colombian Cup with Atlético Nacional, the Super Cup with Porto… And, of course, the Libertadores with Rivera, one very special one, the one in the final in Madrid.

Monumental work, for whom…?

“And why did you expect anything from him? He certainly fulfilled his own goals: playing in two World Cups, winning the Copa Libertadores (with a dream goal in the epic final), going to Europe, being loved by his and other fans… Stop imagining the careers of football players… “, writes Fernando, irritable. like a good Twitter user. “And do you know what his goals were? Everyone has their roof. And that makes them happy. What other people think about your roof is idiotic,” added Roberto. “Juan Fernando hoped to be happy playing , and maybe it is. You can’t judge a football player by what you expect from him,” supports Manuel.

The second discovery of America

Error. No one intends to interfere in the life and happiness of a football player. Nor to demand success, but the journalist is there to give his opinion; can do that. And he believes that with so many virtues, a greater effect could be expected. It is interesting that many of those who claim that he is so good, that he plays whenever he wants, that he lives his life, that he is happy and focused on music, are the same ones who praise Cristiano Ronaldo “because he was born without so many conditions, but he with mentality, perseverance and effort, he reached what he reached.”

“But Juanfer is a millionaire and has secured the future of his family,” some write. The same thing happens with James’ fans: at the slightest criticism, they point to the millions he has earned, as if being a football player is a pile of riches. Indeed, Quintero is already a rich man and the man is happy about it, but the chronicler does not analyze the bank accounts; he’s talking about football.

There are players on social networks, there are players without passion, there are party animals and there are conformists, who sign good contracts and take it for granted. The latter go from club to club because there is a very profitable business: he signs a contract, collects a good portion at the beginning and then after six months or a year leaves with any excuse. The amount charged is generally non-refundable. Then another bond is signed, a suitable speech is prepared and the formula is repeated. In the end, they become millionaires, but none of the fans like them or identify with any club.

They make up for the first lack of good performances with an appropriate announcement and nice words. And the players without passion are the ones who ask: “Do you watch a lot of football…?” “No, I don’t like to watch football, I prefer to play it.” When a player from your club says something like that, it’s devastating, it destroys your morale. For those four categories, there is a lot of understanding for the journalists who support them, certainly to make them look good. The question is why does the reporter want to look good with the protagonist…? That is not his purpose.

There were many of them cracks which are lost for any of these reasons. Perhaps the biggest waste in history is Neymar. What happened to Ney…? Only he could answer. Little by little he became an ordinary player. Good, but average, undone. A true dribbling monster (this is undeniable) unable to cross the goal; They put it on him and take it away. AND crack passes he barely manages to score a filtered ball to leave his teammate alone. No matter how fast he is, he accelerates and cannot overtake his opponent. And fewer and fewer goals. The attacker who scored 43, 42, 31 in other seasons, added 19, 17… 13 in recent seasons. And many of those were penalties. With assists the same: he had cycles of 27, 25, 22 passes for his teammates; That number dropped drastically to 13, 12, 11. And the same with the number of games: he played less and less. In his first years he played 60, 51, 49, 47 games; now it registers 30, 28, 27… I wanted to be a Ballon d’Or collector; he won none. And it won’t anymore. It will not be easy for a footballer with such rare virtues to repeat himself: superb technique, forward dribbling, speed, courage, excellent right-footed kick, offensive vocation, fantasy, goal, joy of play and combinations. However, it is written that one cannot reach the top by abilities alone.

There were others. Renee Houseman. Definitely great. He could dribble the city. And all the way to victory. The best Houseman may have rivaled the line of Maradona, Messi, Bochini. He became champion with Huracán in 1973 with a star role and was part of Argentina’s world title in 1978. Unfortunately, it lasted like a match light. It will be five years of glory, maybe six. The excesses soon finished him off. and Magical González, a legend, an enlightenment, a supreme talent who barely flashed in Cádiz. The night was stronger.

But the important thing is that they are happy. It’s Neymar. I hope Juanfer will too. (D)