Paraguay is abuzz over the performance of a virtually unknown Dario Lezcano.
Paraguay is abuzz over the performance of a virtually unknown Dario Lezcano.
Lezcano, 25, was discovered by Argentine coach Ramon Diaz, who gave him the opportunity to lead the attack against Argentina in the second qualifying match.
In just a short time the player showed skill, intelligence, vision of the game and a hunger to score.
Lezcano caused goalkeeper Sergio Romero some trouble in the first half hour of play with a middle-distance bomb that forced a save and an incursion into the box that did not lead to a goal.
Diaz assigned him to take corner kicks and one of his free kicks just missed.
Albiceleste coach Gerardo Martino realized the danger and ordered two defensemen, Nicolas Otamendi and Pablo Zabaleta, to clamp down on him. However Lezcano could not be stopped.
In the second half, 59 minutes in, he had his best moment when Derlis Gonzalez set him up nicely, but Lezcano hesitated for a split second too long and Otamendi was able to break up the play.
Lezcano plays in Switzerland and is the top scorer in the league with 9 goals from 11 games.
From the country (he planted vegetables on the farm of his father), the new darling of the fans soon emigrated from his native Caaguazú to Ciudad del Este (on the border with Brazil and Argentina) and then to Asuncion.
Without playing any games in the first division in Paraguay, he was transferred to Swiss football at age 17. His performance there did not attract much attention back in Paraguay until it came out that the Swiss wanted him to be nationalized.
Married with three children, Lezcano first set foot in the Defensores del Chaco stadium in a competitive match. "My dream was to get to the Paraguayan national team and now I want to continue. It is not easy, it's a big responsibility," he said in remarks to reporters before traveling to rejoin his club.
Text and photo: AFP
Edition: conmebol.com
