Any one heard of him? Read this article about him a few weeks ago and he sounds very good. Notwtihstanding Vickery's incessant rants about S.American players leaving too soon and work permit issues, maybe this lad could be a good backup option for midfield - stepping in for Mashcer and Alonso instead of Lucas?
Maradona the only one still to be blown away by Huracán's Pastore
Huracán's 19-year-old midfielder, Javier Pastore, has lit up the Argentinian top flight, but his national coach remains unmoved
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Javier Pastore, Matias De Federico
Javier Pastore, left, celebrates with Matias De Federico after scoring one of his two goals against River Plate. Photograph: Daniel Luna/AP
He is light years ahead of his nearest competitor in the 'Lyrical Ranking' – a weekly tribute to the showboaters among Argentina's top flight footballers. Sports daily Olé's readers recently voted him the best player of the season, while ClarÃn's journalists rate him as the second top performer of the season. Some 680,292 mangers have him in their fantasy football teams. Manchester United are reported to have tabled a £8.8m bid, which he turned down. Milan and Lazio are also interested. He's the son every madre wants after he ran over to kiss his mum through the fencing to celebrate a goal. He's the boyfriend that every señorita wants thanks to his boyish good looks. Huracán's 19-year-old midfielder, Javier Pastore, is creating quite a stir in Argentina.
Just over a week ago, he single-handedly demolished River Plate with two goals and an assist in his side's 4-0 win over the millonarios. Many thought Pastore had played his best game of the season. Then last Saturday night he scored two more against Rosario Central, and was inches away from his first top flight hat-trick when his shot cannoned off the crossbar. With seven goals from midfield this season, he is his club's top scorer.
Yet for all the goals, the elegance and the fantasy that Pastore brings to his side, for all the fawning interviews and the Facebook groups, there is one man who is not convinced. Diego Maradona.
Last week, an Argentina B team beat Panama 3-1 in a friendly. One of Maradona's motifs since taking over as Argentina coach (as well as arguing with his employer, the AFA president, Julio Grondona) has been to involve locally based players in the national team setup.
The historic 6-1 defeat to Bolivia, and another World Cup qualifier to be played at altitude in Quito just around the corner, brought about the idea of a B team. A group of players may be sent to Ecuador to acclimatise to the altitude and form the basis of the side that plays that qualifier.
Maradona named a 27-man squad to face Panama to look at the local talent at his disposal, yet the Huracán representative was not Pastore but his teammate MatÃas De Federico.
De Federico and Pastore are the two revelations of this season. Between them they are leading Huracán's improbable title challenge. De Federico has already been lauded as the new Messi because of his age, 20, his explosive dribbling, his height, his left foot and his goals. He repaid the faith shown in him by Maradona with the first goal of the friendly against Panama.
But while De Federico took the limelight, the decision to exlude Pastore from the group was a puzzling one. "He's only just made it into the first team at club level," points out the Huracán coach, Ãngel Cappa. "He's not disappointed to miss out, he's still only 19 years old! His time will come."
It remains to be seen whether that time will come while Maradona is the Argentina coach. Last February, Pastore was named in Argentina's Under-20 squad to travel to Venezuela for the South American championship. Huracán refused to let him go. "We needed him to do a proper pre-season and adjust to playing in the first team," explains Cappa, who is quick to defend the decision. "Javier wasn't the only one who didn't go. Chelsea didn't release a player [Franco Di Santo] and neither did the Spanish side AlmerÃa [Pablo Piatti]. He wasn't chosen as a first team player, he'd have been on the bench. We believed it more important for him to stay and train with us."
Judging by Pastore's recent performances in the clausura, Huracán's decision was a correct one. The ramifications it has on Pastore's international career, however, are unclear. Any player who turns down the opportunity to play for Argentina is a traitor in Maradona's eyes. The example of Real Madrid's Gonzalo HiguaÃn highlights the trend. Not even 21 goals in Spain have earned HiguaÃn a chance to play for the national team. Along with rumours of a falling-out with Sergio 'Kun' Agüero, HiguaÃn's refusal to go to the 2007 under-20 world championship in Canada is one of the reasons he doesn't make it into Maradona's plans.
For now, Pastore prefers to avoid any controversy. "I didn't refuse to travel with the national team," he says, before falling back on the cliché. "The players who are in the national team are there because they deserve to be."
Pastore's recent form is largely down to his coach, Cappa, who plucked him out of the reserves and made him first choice. "He has a lot of talent, he does things that can't be taught," says the Huracán coach, famed for his purist views on how football should be played. "He is still developing, so he needs to harness that ability and adjust it to work as part of a team. He is a player who invents things, he is tremendously creative."
So the interest from abroad is inevitable? "Argentine football is designed to export players," continues Cappa. "Very few teams have the same group of players for more than a year. Many players don't belong to clubs, they belong to investment groups, so even when they are sold the club don't make any money."
While still at under-18 level, Pastore faced Huracán while playing for his local side Talleres de Córdoba. The Huracán president, Carlos Babington, nicknamed The Englishman, wanted to sign the player on the spot, only there was one problem. Huracán had no money.
Babington reached an agreement with an investment group who paid $200,000 for 55% of the player's rights, while Talleres kept the other 45%. Pastore was then loaned to Huracán. He is still registered as a Talleres player but his contract with the club runs out in June and he will be a free agent.
Pastore recently admitted that he doesn't watch much Argentine football. He says it bores him. "I watch a lot of European football though," he says after training. "The English league is the best to watch but the Italian and Spanish leagues are also very strong. Perhaps the football in Argentina is closer to Spanish and Italian in terms of style." So does the interest from clubs like Manchester United mean he'll be moving to Europe soon?
"I'm very proud that a club like United were interested in me, but I want to play here for another six months and then when my contract is finished I will be able to choose where to go." But didn't he fancy playing in the Premier League? "The thing is that at clubs like Manchester United there are a lot of great players, and they are all internationals. I know that if I moved to a club like that, I'd have to wait to get my chance to play."
In light of recent events, Manchester United may also prefer any problems with Pastore's owners to be ironed out before taking their interest any further. But in the meantime, Pastore is focusing on winning the title with Huracán. If 'El Globo' can do it, it would be a remarkable achievement. The club hasn't won the league since 1973 and is on the verge of bankruptcy. With four games to go, Cappa's team are just two points off the pace at the top of the table and playing the best football in the country. Maradona may not want to admit it, but everybody else knows it is largely down to one player – Javier Pastore.
Maradona the only one still to be blown away by Huracán's Pastore
Huracán's 19-year-old midfielder, Javier Pastore, has lit up the Argentinian top flight, but his national coach remains unmoved
*
Comments (25)
* Buzz up!
* Digg it
Javier Pastore, Matias De Federico
Javier Pastore, left, celebrates with Matias De Federico after scoring one of his two goals against River Plate. Photograph: Daniel Luna/AP
He is light years ahead of his nearest competitor in the 'Lyrical Ranking' – a weekly tribute to the showboaters among Argentina's top flight footballers. Sports daily Olé's readers recently voted him the best player of the season, while ClarÃn's journalists rate him as the second top performer of the season. Some 680,292 mangers have him in their fantasy football teams. Manchester United are reported to have tabled a £8.8m bid, which he turned down. Milan and Lazio are also interested. He's the son every madre wants after he ran over to kiss his mum through the fencing to celebrate a goal. He's the boyfriend that every señorita wants thanks to his boyish good looks. Huracán's 19-year-old midfielder, Javier Pastore, is creating quite a stir in Argentina.
Just over a week ago, he single-handedly demolished River Plate with two goals and an assist in his side's 4-0 win over the millonarios. Many thought Pastore had played his best game of the season. Then last Saturday night he scored two more against Rosario Central, and was inches away from his first top flight hat-trick when his shot cannoned off the crossbar. With seven goals from midfield this season, he is his club's top scorer.
Yet for all the goals, the elegance and the fantasy that Pastore brings to his side, for all the fawning interviews and the Facebook groups, there is one man who is not convinced. Diego Maradona.
Last week, an Argentina B team beat Panama 3-1 in a friendly. One of Maradona's motifs since taking over as Argentina coach (as well as arguing with his employer, the AFA president, Julio Grondona) has been to involve locally based players in the national team setup.
The historic 6-1 defeat to Bolivia, and another World Cup qualifier to be played at altitude in Quito just around the corner, brought about the idea of a B team. A group of players may be sent to Ecuador to acclimatise to the altitude and form the basis of the side that plays that qualifier.
Maradona named a 27-man squad to face Panama to look at the local talent at his disposal, yet the Huracán representative was not Pastore but his teammate MatÃas De Federico.
De Federico and Pastore are the two revelations of this season. Between them they are leading Huracán's improbable title challenge. De Federico has already been lauded as the new Messi because of his age, 20, his explosive dribbling, his height, his left foot and his goals. He repaid the faith shown in him by Maradona with the first goal of the friendly against Panama.
But while De Federico took the limelight, the decision to exlude Pastore from the group was a puzzling one. "He's only just made it into the first team at club level," points out the Huracán coach, Ãngel Cappa. "He's not disappointed to miss out, he's still only 19 years old! His time will come."
It remains to be seen whether that time will come while Maradona is the Argentina coach. Last February, Pastore was named in Argentina's Under-20 squad to travel to Venezuela for the South American championship. Huracán refused to let him go. "We needed him to do a proper pre-season and adjust to playing in the first team," explains Cappa, who is quick to defend the decision. "Javier wasn't the only one who didn't go. Chelsea didn't release a player [Franco Di Santo] and neither did the Spanish side AlmerÃa [Pablo Piatti]. He wasn't chosen as a first team player, he'd have been on the bench. We believed it more important for him to stay and train with us."
Judging by Pastore's recent performances in the clausura, Huracán's decision was a correct one. The ramifications it has on Pastore's international career, however, are unclear. Any player who turns down the opportunity to play for Argentina is a traitor in Maradona's eyes. The example of Real Madrid's Gonzalo HiguaÃn highlights the trend. Not even 21 goals in Spain have earned HiguaÃn a chance to play for the national team. Along with rumours of a falling-out with Sergio 'Kun' Agüero, HiguaÃn's refusal to go to the 2007 under-20 world championship in Canada is one of the reasons he doesn't make it into Maradona's plans.
For now, Pastore prefers to avoid any controversy. "I didn't refuse to travel with the national team," he says, before falling back on the cliché. "The players who are in the national team are there because they deserve to be."
Pastore's recent form is largely down to his coach, Cappa, who plucked him out of the reserves and made him first choice. "He has a lot of talent, he does things that can't be taught," says the Huracán coach, famed for his purist views on how football should be played. "He is still developing, so he needs to harness that ability and adjust it to work as part of a team. He is a player who invents things, he is tremendously creative."
So the interest from abroad is inevitable? "Argentine football is designed to export players," continues Cappa. "Very few teams have the same group of players for more than a year. Many players don't belong to clubs, they belong to investment groups, so even when they are sold the club don't make any money."
While still at under-18 level, Pastore faced Huracán while playing for his local side Talleres de Córdoba. The Huracán president, Carlos Babington, nicknamed The Englishman, wanted to sign the player on the spot, only there was one problem. Huracán had no money.
Babington reached an agreement with an investment group who paid $200,000 for 55% of the player's rights, while Talleres kept the other 45%. Pastore was then loaned to Huracán. He is still registered as a Talleres player but his contract with the club runs out in June and he will be a free agent.
Pastore recently admitted that he doesn't watch much Argentine football. He says it bores him. "I watch a lot of European football though," he says after training. "The English league is the best to watch but the Italian and Spanish leagues are also very strong. Perhaps the football in Argentina is closer to Spanish and Italian in terms of style." So does the interest from clubs like Manchester United mean he'll be moving to Europe soon?
"I'm very proud that a club like United were interested in me, but I want to play here for another six months and then when my contract is finished I will be able to choose where to go." But didn't he fancy playing in the Premier League? "The thing is that at clubs like Manchester United there are a lot of great players, and they are all internationals. I know that if I moved to a club like that, I'd have to wait to get my chance to play."
In light of recent events, Manchester United may also prefer any problems with Pastore's owners to be ironed out before taking their interest any further. But in the meantime, Pastore is focusing on winning the title with Huracán. If 'El Globo' can do it, it would be a remarkable achievement. The club hasn't won the league since 1973 and is on the verge of bankruptcy. With four games to go, Cappa's team are just two points off the pace at the top of the table and playing the best football in the country. Maradona may not want to admit it, but everybody else knows it is largely down to one player – Javier Pastore.
