Minute 84 of the game between Argentina and Poland in it World Cup 2022. lionel scaloni get change to Alexis MacAllister and sends to the field of Stadium 974 a Thiago Almadaone of the two youngest players in the Albiceleste squad along with Enzo Fernandez (21 years old), and the only field footballer who does not play in Europe, since in January of last year he became the most expensive signing of the history of the Major League Soccer (MLS), after the atlanta united will pay Velez Sarsfield $16 million for the transfer.
Before unexpectedly arriving at United States soccer its name sounded in different latitudes of the Old Continent, since it was already considered one of the Argentine soccer jewels. However, the current world champion had to stop his plans due to the lack of community passporta document that, thanks to immigration at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th, opened the doors of European football to hundreds of footballers.
In case of Thiago it is not unique. In recent years the number of players born in Argentina that does not have the community passport It has been increasing, due to the loss of European ancestry due to immigration mainly from South American countries. Added to this, the economic crisis that the country lives has forced them to restructure their professional path, putting tournaments like the MX League, one of its main buyers, as well as the MLScompetition that has seduced more than one for its salaries and quality of life that it offers.
For example, at pity martinezRiver Plate star, who preferred to sign with him atlanta united in 2019 due to the indecision of European clubs to buy their letter. Esequiel Boatwho was dreaming of going to Benfica, came to the same team in 2018 from Independiente. Emanuel Reynosowho made the leap from Boca Juniors to Minnesota United in 2019 and Valentin Castellanosgolden boot in MLS 2021, signed by New York City in 2018, followed the same pattern.
“The economic crisis in Argentina It is one reason, another is that the Argentine player, the biotype of the Argentine player has changed a lot and the descendant of Europe is no longer there, therefore hthere is little community passport”, he spoke in an interview for halftimeLucas de Vicente, soccer player representative.
“Very few have the possibility of going to a top league and within the leagues that the Argentines now go, the Mexican and the MLS are the most tempting; this will continue to increase, because the Argentine is not going to Europe anymore”.
In Mexico the clearest example is the former Cruz Azul soccer player, GWilliam Pol Fernandez. The midfielder, emerged from the basic forces of Boca, had several offers from the Old Continent, but none was able to crystallize due to the lack of community passport. In 2019 La Máquina took over its services after paying 5 million dollars to Racing, a club where he managed to stand out.
The Italian Serie A is proof of this phenomenon, because although of the top leagues in Europe it is the one that has made the most signings since the 2012-2013 season with 372, signings from Argentina in the last decade have fallen dramatically, going from from 59 to only 16 at the start of the 2022-2023 campaign. Similar case that happens in LaLiga of Spainwhich with just 31 incorporations in the last summer market, became the third year with fewer Argentines since 2012.
Why does the Argentine prefer Liga MX?
“Many players want to leave and before it was more feasible, but today there is the disadvantage we have with our currency,” he commented. Luis Grilloagent Fabio Álvarez, former player of Pumas and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
“In Mexico the dollar is stable. How long has it been between 18 and 20 pesos? Since 2014 or 2015; Here it has shot up in an abysmal way. In Mexico they have an annual inflation of 7 percent, and we have a monthly inflation of 8 percent, the difference is abysmal”.
For this reason, the objective of the Argentine player has changed according to De Vicente, because before Liga MX was nothing more than a springboard to reach Europe and today the Argentine soccer player seeks to settle down and live in the country, as in the case of Rogelio Funes Morihistoric goalscorer for Monterrey, naturalized Mexican and World Cup player in Qatar 2022, who arrived in 2015 after rejecting offers from other Leagues such as the Spanish and German.
“The currency in Mexico compared to that of Argentina is strong; So, it is no longer a springboard to later go to other leagues, It is already attractive to settle and stay in Mexico. We have two players who are very comfortable, who have had offers to go to other Leagues and have preferred to stay, one is Rogelio Funes Mori and the other is Juan Ignacio Dinenno (Cougars)”, he talked.
The stability of the dollar counts to decide
The strength of American dollar He has also done his job and has put the Argentine footballer in the crosshairs of the MLSa tournament that went from having nine players of this nationality in 2013 a 47 in 2021, counting promises like Alan Velasco 20-year-old who went from Independiente to FC Dallas and the aforementioned Thiago Almadawho also became the first MLS player to be a world champion.
“Today the ambition is not only to reach Mexico, but also to the MLS. It has already begun to take on an important scope. Argentina is a football that economic and social situation you live, you want to leave so that your income is in dollars. The market has grown a lot MLS and of the MX League for the ambitions of the Argentine player”, he commented in an interview for halftime, Andrés Fassi Jürgenspresident of Talleres de Córdoba.
“MLS is a League that has grown in all aspects, the value of the franchises, the number of teams; It is a league that is not replicable in other countries. The United States has other types of social and economic aspects that allow you to go to 30 first division teams.
South American immigration phenomenon
In the last 30 years immigration to Argentina has had a flow, mainly, from other South American countries, such as Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Uruguay and Brazil, which comprise 80 percent of the total, according to data from the latest censuses. This little by little has been causing the disappearance of European ancestry and it has even changed the physical characteristics of the Argentine soccer player, something that has become one of the main obstacles to fulfilling his dream of playing in the top European Leagues.
“The biotype has changed for a matter of descent”, said Lucas de Vicente, who pointed out that this phenomenon has also caused clubs in Europe to turn their gaze towards Uruguaywhere the European ancestry has been maintained, to the extent that Uruguayan soccer has gradually been gaining ground as the second country in South Americajust behind Brazilas one of the countries that exports the most players to Europe.
“Before we had descendants of Italians, Spaniards, there was a biotype that the Uruguayan continues to have and, therefore, there are many community passports in Uruguay, and the biotype remains European, its values are lower and that makes viewers attractive”.
The Argentine territory became at the end of the XIX century and the first decades of Twentieth century at the destination of thousands of European Migrants, mainly coming from Italy and Spain, countries that became the primary source of immigration until 1940; Subsequently, and in the following 50 years, the South American nations changed their immigration routes until, in the mid-1990s, they were placed at the top of the population censuses.
according to Migration Statistical Yearbook of Argentina 2020with 5.9% Italy ranks fifth on the immigration list, while Spain it is located up to the seventh position with 4.2%. In the first four places are Peru 7.6%, Chili 11.4%, bolivian 17.5% and Paraguayan 32.1%
Juan Manuel Iturbea footballer who defended the Xolos and Pumas shirts between 2017 and 2019, is one of the examples regarding the Guarani immigration. The 29-year-old striker was born in Buenos Aires, and although he had a stint in the Albiceleste youth teams between 2011 and 2013, in 2016 he made the decision to play for the Paraguayan national teamcountry of origin of their parents.
“There are a lot of immigrants. The biotype has changed and they begin to be descendants of these countries. The biotype is smaller stature, another type of physique and that limits them in certain markets and that is why they end up going to the MLS and Mexico where these types of players continue to make a difference”.
“The Argentine soccer player is very tempted, I think the MLS and the Liga MX They are the ones that tempt you the most, for quality of life, for the economic situation. Good salaries are paid in the MLS. Of course, MLS is a competition for Mexico, and it will be a very difficult bid. Today the MLS stops being a show and is a competitive league, it stops being a springboard”, concluded Lucas de Vicente.
