Mateo Retegui, the relentless Tigre striker and Argentine soccer scorer in the last Professional Soccer League (LPF) and also in the current oneshowed from a very young age “a winning mentality” that made him succeed, according to revealed Ernesto Perissé, one of his first coaches and trainers in the sixth division of Boca Juniors.
“I met Mateo when he just arrived in Boca, in 2016, I saw him grow. He always had a winning mentality, from a very young age.“, he expressed in dialogue with the agency Télam Perissé, who worked in the lower divisions of Boca when Retegui joined seven years ago, in a work team that included, among others, Diego “Chiche” Soñora and Jorge “Coqui” supervised. Raffo.
“Mateo arrived at Boca after having played for three years in the minor divisions of Riveralways in the Metropolitan League, since they never took him into account to move to the categories that played in AFA and that’s why he decided to leave,” recalled Perissé.
Retegui, born in San Fernando, in the northern part of the province of Buenos Aires, on April 29, 1999, belongs to a family linked to sports, more specifically to field hockey, since He is the son of Carlos “Chapa” Retegui, and brother of Micaela Retegui. He “Chapa” Retegui was a historic player for the hockey team and later a successful coach of Las Leonas and Los Leoneswhile Micaela, 26, plays for San Fernando and was part of the Las Leonas squad several times.
Mateo also played field hockey since he was little but soccer was more of a draw for him and that is why he leaned towards a ball and began his career in the lower ranks of Riverthen added to Mouthwhere he became a professional, and later he wore the shirts of Talleres de Córdoba, Estudiantes de La Plata and finally Tigre where he showed his best version.
“When he arrived at Boca we used him as a midfielder in the right sector and in his category he did very well, until a conversation arose with his father and he asked us to try him out as a strikerPerissé recalled.As soon as we started using him as a striker, in that position he began to score many goals and very often, he also exhibited tremendous power like the one he is showing now in the first division”, added the youth coach.
Retegui made his debut in the first division with the Boca shirt on November 17, 2018 at La Bombonera, when the twin Guillermo Barros Schelotto He sent him to the pitch towards the end to play a handful of minutes in the 1-0 win over Patronato with a goal from Cristian Espinoza, for that year’s Super League that the “Xeneizes” won. Then He was loaned to Talleres, he returned to Boca and without a place in the first team he went on loan again to Estudiantes de La Plata and from there he returned to Boca but again went on loan to Tigrewhere he matured and became the top scorer in Argentine soccer.
Retegui scored 19 goals in the 2022 LPF that Boca won and has scored six in five games played in the current domestic tournament. “I have no doubt, because I’ve known him since he was very young, that if Mateo maintains this current level, he has all the conditions to play in European football” predicted the coachwho worked for six years in Boca in charge of the sixth division and currently directs the senior youth categories of the Club Atlético Ituzaingó League.
“Once we decided to upgrade it, we moved it to 98′ and I remember that he shared a team with Nahuel Molina“Perissé recalled, alluding to the world champion right-back with Argentina in Qatar 2022 and currently plays for Atlético de Madrid, in Spain.
Retegui stands out in Tigre, where he shares a team with several ex-Boca, including Facundo Colidio, also directed by Perissé in Boca like other players in that category such as Mauro Luna Diale and Ezequiel Cañete, both in Unión de Santa Fe.”I hope he continues like this and can grow in his career because he is a great boy.”concluded Perissé, who was also a field assistant to Omar Labruna in his steps through Huracán and Nueva Chicago.
For now, Retegui does not stop scoring with Tigre’s shirt and his goals did not go unnoticed by European clubs such as Atlético de Madrid, from Spain, Lazio, from Italy, the powerful German Bayern Munich and the English giant Manchester Unitedwho promise to charge for the striker in the next transfer market.