He’s a winner at River Plate, he’s studying for a university degree while he shines in MLS and he’ll try to stop Messi again: ‘It’s difficult but you have to try’

On July 25 last year for Santiago Sosa: Participated in the first game as a starter Lionel Messi as a player inter miami and midfielder atlanta united He faces the difficult task of marking the Argentine star from close range.Despite the 0-4 defeat League Cup, Sosa took away a treasure that he would always keep in a special place, a shirt that Leo wore that hot night.

He comes from Mercedes, a city an hour outside of Buenos Aires, and has been there since he was 10 years old platte river, He admitted in a conversation with him that he made his debut at the club database This led him to leave a team he was also a fan of: “It was an era of many championships, but I made this decision more important than any sporting issue.”

Sosa makes historic debut at River Plate 2018 Copa Libertadores: In the Millionaire competition, he has played in 21 official matches and participated in the Olympic Games three times (2018 Copa Libertadores, 2019 Copa America and 2019 Copa Argentina). Amazingly, at just 21 years old, he moved to Major League Soccer just one year after his first competitive appearance.

What wasn’t difficult for him was adapting to the United States and MLS: “When I arrived, there were four Argentinian team-mates in the team and the coach was Gabriel Heinze Later in the club I met a lot of Spanish speaking people. ” admits Sosa, who is also studying English and Business Administration online at UADE.

This Saturday he will face Leo Messi again, This time it was at home, but he remembered what it felt like when he had to stop him. “It’s very difficult to mark the best player in the world, especially when he has the ball at his feet and the field in front of him, and he has the potential to not only dribble past you but also provide an assist. It’s complicated, but you have to try, ” he said with a smile.

Sosa believes Inter Miami is a completely different team since the arrival of figures like Messi, Tata and others (Busquets and Jordi Alba) said after joining: “They have another style of playing, more attacking, more direct, and they score when they arrive”, but their team has the winning Weapons: “We are a team that always makes suggestions, especially when we play at home, we always tend to attack more.”

Furthermore, he recognized Messi is very respected in the United States. There were “only words of admiration” after Qatar’s feat, and they will receive him warmly at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta United’s stadium. “They are all happy that he is here to play and we all want to face him and see where we are as players,” he stressed.

Santiago admits that he spends most of his day at the club, and in addition to studying English and Business Administration, he often talks to his family and friends via video calls (he misses them very much), and he loves going to the club to your house Park nearby.Moreover, people are not “Cholula” like Argentinians, although they live as “strangers” in a sense, they shout at him when they recognize him “Let’s go to Sousa” (“Let’s go to Sousa”).

Although far away from his homeland, he realized Several customs are preserved in Atlanta, such as asado and mate, He left it straight at the club: “Every 20 days we have a barbecue with Thiago (Almada) and whoever is available.”

about Thiago Almada, He has a good relationship with him, he says the fans and the club love him very much and he is very happy with his football career and being part of the World Cup that Qatar won.

Santiago admits that whenever possible and he’s not playing for his team, he follows River on TV and that he would “love” to return to Millionaire at some point, but he dreams of being in the spotlight at some point. Time to make the jump to the EuroLeague. “For that, I have to stand out here first,” he concluded.