‘Discoverer’ of Lapadula: “If they want to give me credit, I’ll take it. I will not be humble”

is a fan of Cesar Cueto, reported the goal with the hand with which Ruidíaz eliminated Brazil from the Copa América Centenario 2016and this year he has had to narrate the Alianza Lima matches in the Copa Libertadores. Juan Arango He is a connoisseur from a distance of Peruvian soccer. But he is above all the involuntary protagonist of his greatest find of recent times: an Italian with a Peruvian mother named Gianluca Lapadula. One afternoon in 2015, Arango, who has had a career spanning more than twenty years at ESPN and GolTV, among other networks, sat in front of the television to watch a match against Pescara, the leader of Serie B. For him it was just another match . For him Peru, salvation. A portal was opened for us.

From Miami, where he lives very close to Hollywood glamor and a large Peruvian community, Juan Arango narrates exclusively and without smoke, how he paved the way for the Benevento striker to fall from the sky.

—What is the first memory you have of Lapadula?

One day I just sat in front of the TV and turned on RAI to watch Italian Serie B football. The truth was I wasn’t paying that much attention, but when the reporter said that the Pescara striker had a Peruvian mother, I stopped listening. It seemed strange to me. I honestly did not know what the laws are like in Peru in terms of citizenship. Each country has its own rules. But the truth is that I immediately wrote to Víctor (Zaferson), a Peruvian scout, a close friend of mine whom I met at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and told him: they just mentioned an Italian boy with a Peruvian mother. He is called Gianluca Lapadula. Then Victor started to find out if he was eligible or not. There he began this whole process that bore fruit years later.

—Did you regularly watch Serie B in Italy or very occasionally?

Not very occasionally, but I did see. For those years, in 2015, 2016 I could do it. I would put the TV in the background if I was doing other things or if I was very interested I would sit down. Now I don’t have that much time. But he wasn’t an expert in Serie B, huh.

“Then you mean that fortune played a role there.” Because you didn’t follow her regularly and you just tuned in to that match.

Of course, I’m not going to tell you that it was “because I was following Lapadula.” I like to see different Leagues. I can watch Serie B more to clear my mind. But I can also see Alianza Lima with a fixed interest because later I will have to report it in the Copa Libertadores. Depends on what purpose you have. Now I have to budget my time. At that moment I saw Pescara, because they had a great team that was fighting for promotion and, in addition, they had a player who was breaking it. When he arrived at Milan I paid more attention to him. And when his arrival in the Peruvian team became a reality, even more so. Besides, I told myself: Paolo Guerrero is already advanced in age. Who’s next? Nobody comes. That’s why I transferred my curiosity to Víctor Zaferson.

—Do you define yourself as a journalist or a scout?

It even pains me to say that I am a journalist. Scout I am not. I’ve never told a team: pay attention to this or that guy. I don’t think I have that eye. It wouldn’t be fair to say that. Although I am always aware of the recruitment and the new players that appear. I am also sorry to say that I am a journalist. I didn’t study to be. I got out. I didn’t have it displayed. Opportunities arose for me and in a certain part of life one had to reinvent oneself. And the reinvention went well. I have always been passionate about soccer. But if they had told me when I was in college that I would be a soccer announcer, I would not have believed it. At a certain stage of life one says yes. One is because he has done this and the other. Today I feel more comfortable saying that I am a journalist than before.

—How did you follow the evolution of Lapadula? At the beginning, when she said no to Peru, he divided many waters. But now those same people who questioned him are the ones who adore him.

It happens sometimes. With those kinds of people one acquires empathy. He himself has said it: he regrets not having been so linked to Peruvian culture as a child. Let’s be honest: he was more rooted in Italy. Had he had any connection to a younger capable Peru he wouldn’t have thought twice. That has also been said by (Ben) Brereton in Chile. It happens to one too. One is from here, but he is from there. It is not so easy to arrive and say: I am going or I am staying. He also thinks about his career. Where will I be able to get to a World Cup? what will be the best opportunity for me. Italy was the known. Peru was the good thing to know. One as a person also has those uncertainties.

“That must happen a lot in the United States?”

That’s how it is. It is a phenomenon that is happening. Many Colombian boys who were born here dream of playing for the Colombian national team. I have told Colombian journalists: they have to come looking for them. They sing the anthem. They shout the goals as if they had been born there. They are in the middle of two countries. But in the end they will choose what is best for them and that is respectable. Lapadula has chosen Peru and it has done well.

“It’s your case too, isn’t it?”

Yes, I was born in New Jersey, but my parents are Colombian. When I was six years old I lived in Medellin, in the middle of the World Cup in Spain 82. I saw it on a small black and white television at my grandparents’ house. But I am also an Italian citizen because my wife, who is from Argentina, has roots there. And my daughter, who was born in Argentina but has lived in the United States since she was one year old, feels Colombian. It happens to me too. It’s part of that unknown, but also the beauty of knowing: well, I’m not from here or there, but at the same time I’m from here and there. One has a particular middle belonging. But it gives you a certain pride to say that you are from various places. It gives you another perspective.

—When you meet someone, how do you introduce yourself?

It’s complicated (laughs). That is determined by the person. The media say: the Miami journalist, the Colombian journalist or the American journalist. Everyone is right in the end. I am from here and there, like Lapadula. He is the Italian top scorer and also the top scorer for the Peruvian team. It’s nice to belong to more than one country. One tries to represent them in the best possible way.

—Your soccer education responds to several countries in fact.

Sure. As a boy, Italian Calcio marked me. In the 1980s, he followed Serie A very closely. He watched Napoli, Arrigo Sachi’s AC Milan, Sócrates’ Fiorentina, Zico’s Udinese, Juventus. Are so many. But I’ve also been a big fan of Colombian soccer. Imagine that my idol is César Cueto. The first game of my life was when I saw Atlético Nacional. He was six years old. My dad, who was a fan of Independiente Medellín, took me because I screwed him up so much and because of him I became a fan of him. I think it was Cueto’s first post-World Cup match in Spain ’82. He was the star.

“A moment ago you said that Lapadula took a chance and ended up choosing well. But what about paradox, right? He could be the only Italian who does play in Qatar 2022.

Sure. One says: Italy doesn’t miss two consecutive World Cups. He could have said to himself: why am I going to Peru if Italy is going to the World Cup? But the reverse happened. Look at Brereton, he is a phenomenon in Chile that no one would have imagined. A year ago no one knew who the fuck he was. It’s not that he speaks the best Spanish, but he gets excited about the goals.

—Lapadula is the clearest case that the scout in Peru and in other parts of South America is not as developed. We have found Lapadula at the age of 26. Imagine if he had been 18 years old.

Yes, and not only the scout, but football development. One sees the different Leagues and after five games they already want to take a youth to Europe. Usually because the team is in debt and needs to be sold as soon as possible. But talent doesn’t develop well. There is the problem. Now, with how globalized we are as a civilization, it is not only about finding Peruvians everywhere, we must find out the potential of the children of Peruvians. There is the future.

—Do you think that in the next Qualifiers we will find more Lapadulas and more Breretons?

There may be. That already depends on those who see revenue in this, since there is an investment of time and resources to find them. And, of course, then you have to see the layout. Of course, I think that romanticisms should be left aside: no, that he does not sing the anthem. No, he doesn’t eat this or that food. What prevails is talent. It’s like when you play darts: the one who is most likely to hit is the one who throws the most. Suddenly you are going to fail a lot, but it is better to have more opportunities to hit.

—If you had Lapadula in charge, what would you say to him?

Well done. She would shake his hand. Let’s be honest: it’s a very unlikely path that he took. One sees him in the Peruvian team with a high level of happiness. He looks happy. sometimes one as a fan thinks: why did you go to such a place, why did you move to another League. It’s his career. It is his life. I don’t know him, but I think this experience with Peru has made him a more complete person. I hope it continues to go well for you.

—There in Miami where you live, the Peruvian community must be very large…

It’s huge. I live near north of Miami, near Hollywood. The Peruvian community is very festive and cheerful. In the matches they are to be with the shirt, the flags and the thunderous bombs. I tell you that I was in a bar with several Peruvians watching the qualifying match against New Zealand. And they told me: my dad died months ago and I never saw Peru in a World Cup. One was excited. I am happy because they are where they are. As a team they have maximized. They don’t have a superstar, but they do have a collective.

“And do any of your Peruvian friends know your history with Lapadula?”

I don’t go through life telling it. Nerd. Nobody knows. I think Victor (Zaferson) should tell it. Sometimes I have shared with my friends some interviews they have done with Víctor where he mentions me. And they told me: ah, but you are more famous than Laura (Bozzo) in Peru. My wife tells me the same thing: you’re going to go to Peru to be famous (laughs). Not much. It’s not something I say in public.

“Don’t you feel like the discoverer then?”

(sighs and laughs) I don’t know. It could be. It’s like when they say that Columbus discovered America. How can you discover something that already existed. The one who allowed himself to be discovered was Lapadula himself. It was a fluke. I knew Víctor (Zaferson) and told him about it. He did all the administrative work. But if they want to give me credit, I’ll take it. I’m not going to be humble (laughs).