Fernando Gago: “Cardona needed to play”

Racing got three important points at home after defeating Atlético Tucumán 2-0, a result that keeps them in the fight for the title in Argentina. One of the novelties of the commitment was the one of the return of Edwin Cardona, after a month without having performed with the team.

The Colombian midfielder entered at minute 83 for Enzo Copetti to play the last moments of the commitment that Racing won and comfortably dominated, thanks to the goals converted precisely by Copetti and the Chilean Eugenio Mena. Annotations that ensured the victory in the Cilindro de Avellaneda.

The Colombian, who was returning to the fields after having been absent with the team in several games, was involved in an incident with his teammate Carlos Alcaraz when executing a free kick for Racing. Cardona, at the request of his coach, asked to charge for the play of the still ball, but the juvenile, who had received the foul, stood over the ball and demanded that he let him kick. Situation in which there was tension in the stadium.

However, in statements to ESPN Argentina, the team’s coach, Fernando Gago, came out in defense of the midfielder stating that “the idea was for Edwin to kick the free kick, to look at the possibility that he would finish off the goal or a center . I think he’s a good footballer, he’s a National Team guy and all of us as footballers have been through adverse situations”.

Likewise, he stressed that he would play with the team again, since his last game had been on September 9, in the defeat against Estudiantes de La Plata, a match in which he started and played 60 minutes. The coach highlighted the good training that the midfielder has had in recent weeks, but also emphasized in that there are other players in a good moment and therefore he is not a starter.

“Edwin needed to play, it was time for him to play, he comes with three very good weeks of training, he is training very well, he deserves to play, but there are also teammates who are in a very good moment (…) so I need everyone and they are understanding it, the atmosphere that is generated in the week is very good for the coach, They make things easy and difficult for me at the same time to choose the starting team”, Gago mentioned.

After this match, the midfielder from Antioquiao He reached 27 games played with the Racing shirt so far this season, in which he has only managed to score one goal, providing two assists. Now, he hopes to have minutes again in the team’s next game against Colón.