• Quarters.Ocampos pushes Sevilla

Talent is also the management of one's own talent. There are geniuses who still wander lost in their own labyrinths, who blame others for their failures, who blindly flee ahead; and then there are those who are born with flower and patience, who grow up with tender ambition, who cross the moors with a smile and celebrate goals with disarming humility. Lucas Ariel Ocampos (Quilmes, Argentina, 1994) was always good for the ball, but his career has not been a verbena rocket. Theirs has been barrel and lace, a temperate wonder.

He started as a professional in the hell of Second, with a team that had spent more than a century in the clouds. In June 2011, River Plate was risking its dignity in a promotion against Club Atlético Belgrano. The Pirates had no mercy on the Millionaire , a victory at home and a draw at El Monumental served to send River to B. A young Mudo Vázquez shone in the Cordobes , who was a starter and providential in both games. In Buenos Aires there was already talk of a kid from the quarry who would be important to re-float the team in the silver division: Ocampos would have a record with the first team in 2011/12.

"That River descent helped everyone change their mentality and realize what that club was," said Ocampos , who has confessed the dream of closing his career one day with the red stripe of his debut. In that season of redemption, Matías Almeyda hung up his boots and assumed the position of coach. He formed a block that mixed illustrious returns with a thriving youth. On the one hand Trézéguet , Ponzio , Cavenaghi or the Chori Domínguez; on the other, Funes Mori, Augusto Solari or Ocampos. The quilmeño played all the games of that unbreathable course. His self-confidence, verticality and power soon attracted attention in Europe.

Sixteen million euros paid Monaco for half of his pass. The Rouge et Blanc club was going through its own ordeal in Ligue 2. Ocampos, like Victor Frankenstein, was specializing in reviving corpses. At the command of Raineri, he added four goals and three assists, ended up being the undisputed starter and took the left wing. Yannick Carrasco was his counterpart on the right side. Between the two, they spurred a team that returned to the golden category of French football. In addition, with the Italian coach he left behind some vices on the grass. Less filigree and more driving, more running power and less pause and feint. A more explosive and less photogenic profile.

European pilgrimage

Monaco took advantage of their rebirth to sign in a big way. Falcao, Moutinho or James improved the squad and suffocated the football of Ocampos, still too green to earn a place in that starting grid. He lost weight on the team and began his brief pilgrimage. Two European champions in low hours, Olympique de Marseille and Milan, and a Genoa in which he had no luck. His football had sparkles, but not continuity. He walked for some years on that wire, the one that marks the focus that illuminates you, that of the great European nights or the snowy fields of some former Soviet republic. Halfway between two worlds: that of fireworks, the front pages of the newspaper or the warm applause of a civil servant from a concrete stand, the endless European previews and an early return to football in your country.

Monchi's eye

The ball fell on the good side. Monchi fell in love with him at Calcio , when he was still working in an office in Rome. Lopetegui has given him confidence and gallons to make him the heart of his machine: 17 goals and five assists in his best season as a professional. At 26, Ocampos has found stability and confidence. The magic of the great nights. The unforgettable goals, like against Wolves, make him the benchmark in the Europa League semifinal, today, against Manchester United , on the way to a dream, already sitting at the senior table.

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