Claudio Echeverri is used to life in the limelight.
At the tender age of 10 he was making global headlines when he inspired River Plate to victory over Juventus in a seven-a-side tournament. The young Echeverri scored four times in the contest that was captured on video, including a sublime curling effort. He ended the competition in Venice with nine goals in six games as River finished third.
Since then he has progressed through the ranks at his hometown club and secured a dream move to Manchester City. He will link up with the Blues in January having returned to River on loan and will be afforded the chance to impress Pep Guardiola and earn a first team spot.
ALSO READ: Rodri replacement and unleash £12.5m forgotten star – Man City’s dream transfer window
READ MORE: What my dad did was incredible – now I’m making my own name at Man City
Still only 18, Echeverri is a talented number 10 who is also capable of playing wide, and possesses the vision and creativity associated with playmakers. He has an eye for goal, hitting a hat-trick against Brazil in the Under-17 World Cup last season, while his passing range, dribbling skills and close control make him an attacking threat.
The leap into life at City will be a significant one, even for a player who has featured 37 times for River this season, plus two appearances for Argentina in the Olympics. The link to Argentina great Lionel Messi has followed Echeverri for much of his blossoming career, even if the player himself is reticent to compare himself to the Inter Miami man.
“I always said that my idol was Messi, but I’m nowhere near Messi,” he said, speaking last year. “I also really liked Pablo Aimar, who’s part of the national-team staff, and he’s spoken to me many times. He’s a great person, and he gives me useful pointers about what I need to correct in my game. I’d probably say “Pablito”, then – he was a talented player and loved to take on defenders like me.”
Echeverri will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of the last Argentine to travel to City in Julian Alvarez. He hit the ground running at the Etihad, collected a cluster of major trophies, and then opted to move to Atletico Madrid in the summer.
The 18-year-old won’t be getting ahead of himself, he remains level-headed and likes to play video games and spend time with his family away from football. He sought advice from psychologists at River to chat to about his meteoric rise and managing expectations and remains, in his own words, a ‘normal guy.’
On the pitch he is anything but normal, and his talent has been evident since that breakthrough performance against Juve seven years ago.
“That video was the start of everything,” he recalled. “I never imagined that my performance at that tournament would have such an impact or that I would become famous at the age of 10! It was great, and when I remember all the time that’s gone by and where I am now, it drives me to keep myself at that level, to do my best.”
