“The question is no longer whether he will play, but where Fossati will put him”: Sonne, the player with a ‘fan club’ who will debut with Nicaragua

Never before has a right-back aroused such fervor among fans, although it is fair to point out that, more than because of his talent (barely verifiable in a few YouTube highlights), Sonne quickly became a celebrity for being a handsome, six-foot-four gringo who smiled like model and did not speak a syllable of Spanish. For local entertainment journalism, such eccentricity represented an event. Not even Gulliver caused such a stir when he was shipwrecked in Lilliput.

However, he never played. Reynoso made him come twice, but did not give him a single opportunity to show himself. Paradoxically, despite not taking the field, Sonne’s popularity remained intact. He was identified as the great victim of the process, the poor boy who was made to take sixteen-hour flights from Copenhagen in vain. And while the coach was falling out of favor – first due to the poor results obtained, then due to the non-transparent attitude with which he negotiated the resolution of his contract –, the ‘Colorado’ left the country, being on the cover of Cosas magazine and leaving the the feeling that the novel with the red and white woman could have a second part.

If Ricardo Gareca had been in charge of the technical command today, perhaps he would not have thought of calling Oliver (the Argentine initially excluded forward Ben Brereton from the Chilean team and his explanation suggested that it was because “not speaking Spanish reasonably well” , although a few days ago he mentioned it), but for Jorge Fossati the language barrier has not been an impediment to calling it again.

The question now is no longer whether he will play, but in what position the Uruguayan coach will use him. According to what was seen in practice this week, Sonne will not be a winger or winger, but rather an inside midfielder on the right. In that location, next to Piero Quispe, he is expected to benefit the team with his physical display and technical virtues. We will also see how his communication with others flows. His first statements in Spanish – “claro pe, causa” – do not exude exquisiteness, but at least they denote optimism. And that, for now, may be more than enough.