“He was silent, but then we realized that he was talking in the field” | Relief

Niko Paz (20 years old) continues to be one of the names at the moment. The Real Madrid-trained playmaker scored for Como in a 1-1 draw with Parma to win the MVP award after a remarkable performance that capped a dream week and put his debut for Argentina as the icing on the cake. “I’ve never seen such talent”– sums up Angel Marrero, who was part of the coaching staff of the Tenerife youth team, which led 79. Despite the fact that almost ten years have passed, he remembers that at that time he was already a “special and unusual” footballer.

Angel Marrero played with Nico Paz in seasons 14–15 and 15–16. two years in the youth category that catapulted the Argentine and put him on the map. “In the field… (thinks) it was brutal. I wasn’t very talkative at first, I needed to gain confidence because he was quiet and reserved, but it’s a very long process. He goes out on the field and things happen,” he explains. It was in one of these courses (“I think it was in the second grade of kindergarten”), The white youth scored “seventy or eighty goals.” which revealed that “although Tenerife produces very good footballers”, the Argentine playmaker stood out. “I’ve never seen anything like it”check.

Of the seventy or eighty goals he remembers, he settles on one: “The best goal I saw against him was kick with a bicycle after the center from the penalty area Aniola (still in Tenerife quarry). This goal reminded me of Hugo Sanchez, although they are completely different (laughs). This is an action that makes you realize that he is a special boy, because not everyone scores this goal.” Nico Paz’s dominance in Tenerife has become a “reality” and helped the team lift the league trophy months before the Spanish-Argentine landed at La Fabrica in the summer of 2016.

“You can’t refuse Madrid”jokes Angel Marrero, who remembers that the white club carried out “careful and very long monitoring” of the signing of Nico Paz, who at that time He has already become one of the great hopes of the Tenerife youth team. “We knew it wouldn’t last long, but the important thing is that he and his family made a decision that made them happy. I believe a lot in natural processes and Nico is one of them. He has an incredible family and, very importantly, a supportive family structure.” As for the native of Tenerife, they accompanied him to Madrid and also for several months in Como, in the Lombardy region.

The curious relationship between Nico Paz and Tenerife captain Aitor Sanz

More than eight years have passed since Nico Paz left the Tenerife discipline. He did this after standing out in the youth system and attracting the attention of Madrid, who had not given it much thought. However, he remains closely associated with the club and, moreover, maintains a curious “relationship” with Aitor Sanz, captain of the first team. who at that time was undergoing an internship as a coach in the youth team, in which 79 Como. The coaching staff that led Nico Paz in his second year of juniors, in addition to Angel Marrero (second from left in the center row), included Onisimo (third from left in the center row) and Aitor Sanz (fourth from left in the center row, directly in front of Nico Paz, second from the right in the row above). “Yes, it’s interesting, because now Aitor is the captain of the first team”adds Marrero.

“I hope he succeeds”wishes Angel Marrero, already settled in Madrid, after a white club took advantage of the services of his son Adrian (Alevin A). “The chance of life” Now we are here too and I need to see everything from the other side (from the family side, not football, as happened with Niko Paz). We need to go gradually,” he concludes.

Now, while Nico Paz is rapidly rising in Serie A under Cesc Fabregas, gaining more and more fame and recognition, Angel Marrero, who coached the Argentine playmaker in Tenerife, contemplate his success from a distance (“I talk to his father from time to time”) and watches with pride his son Adrian’s first months at La Fábrica.