Paolo Guerrero: why they gave him number 22 and what it means in the Racing world

Pelé decided that the numbers on the back serve to classify humans from aliens and since then, at the 1970 Mexico World Cup, wearing a 9 or 10 was synonymous with hierarchy. In Peru, for example, 10 is from Cubillas or 8 from Chorri. In Argentine soccer, the 5th was for Fillol, the 10th was for Riquelme, or the 9th was for Francescoli. In Racing, the third largest, number 22 belongs to Diego Milito, the institution’s greatest modern idol. The man center forwards are built on in the Cylinder. In 2014, when he returned to the club in the worst season in history, the shirts with that number ran out and every time the TyC cameras focused on the Academy fans arriving on the field, it was common to see an army of clones wearing the same sweater, as if it were a protective cloak. On December 14, Racing faced Godoy Cruz at the Cilindro and came out champion again. People filled the stadium two hours before. Milito had scored goals against Independiente, Boca, River, Estudiantes and Rosario, and although he didn’t score that day, he was the one who came out on a stretcher. The 22.

Well, that’s the number they just gave Paolo Guerrero. Like it was easy. Like little.

THE PRESENTATION

We all expected it, like a turn of fate: the last great opportunity for Paolo Guerrero in the competitive Argentine league, where kicks break shin guards and where sacrifice is not a deal. “I like this team for what it gets into,” said Paolo as soon as he passed the medical exams, in a boomerang of messages that went back and forth with the people of the Academy. This Wednesday, the Racing Club social networks made the signing official and showed the Predator together with the technical secretary Rubén Capria -the centers that the Wizard would give him- and the president Víctor Blanco. “Welcome to Racing! Paolo Guerrero signed his contract, which will run until December 2023. He will wear the number 22 ″, the Argentine club wrote on its various social networks. The historical captain of the national team posed with his new skin at the Cilindro facilities, with a look without dreads or barber experiments, which takes him back to the beginning. To when he lived in Matellini and just wanted to kick.

What does it mean for Paolo that he has been given the 22? First, trust. In football there are coded messages, codes that must be interpreted beyond the nominal: they have not only contracted the striker who did not score goals in Avaí in Brazil 2022, but also the one who was a scorer in the last three Copa América. Then identity. He has inherited the number of the most idolized man in Racing since, if I may, Roberto Perfumo (+). If that is not an accolade, nothing is anymore.