The Uruguay-Almería bridge continues

The eleven that Paco Flores put into the fray on August 28, 2005 in Los Pajaritos (3-0) included Ricardo Valera. The right-handed winger, who landed that summer from Eibar, was the first Uruguayan to wear the Almería shirt, starting a bridge more vigorous than ever thanks to those who have seen in the sheikh's club a fishing ground where to do business, serving as a springboard in which to win the different parts. The clearest example is that of Darwin Núñez, leaving in the coffers of the Indálica entity almost 20 million euros clean after the 24 from the agreement reached with Benfica at the beginning of last September.

“Pay attention to that defender. He comes from Uruguay and has already played with the inferiors of his team. They speak wonders of him”, said Alfonso García, with his characteristic straw hat, in a training session in La Manga a few days after Spain was crowned in Johannesburg. He was referring to Marcelo Silva, the second Uruguayan from the UDA, from the Danube, who took a kilo and a half for that 21-year-old central defender who played the U-20 World Cup in 2009. Eleven years have passed and Silva continues to be the Uruguayan with the most matches with the rojiblanca, a total of 60, distributed from 2010 to 2014 (In 2012 he spent five months on loan at Peñarol).

He was not the only Uruguayan to achieve a promotion, since Adrián Gunino, now an ambulance orderly, played 31 games in that 12-13, in which he arrived on loan from Félix, who had had him on loan the previous year at Peñarol, converted in a friendly club of the people of Almeria. At the time of Alfonso García's skinny cows, it was the turn of another side, Goñi (the nickname of 'Teto' barely lasted two weeks). Their participation was reduced to two parties, in one of those movements typical of agents; not in vain, it was his first and last adventure in the old continent.

Weeks before closing the historic sale by the sheikh, Miguel Ángel Corona signed Gianni Rodríguez and Gonzalo Bueno. The first, a left-handed winger, landed free from Fénix (he also previously played in Peñarol). He was barely a month, since the new property rescinded him, leaving him blank for a season, playing later in Armenia and El Ejido, and returning to unemployment at 26. Gonzalo Bueno, winger, had the same fate: without a team for half the season before signing in January 2020 for Universidad Concepción (he is now at Chilean Liverpool).

Who did make a hole for himself was Darwin Núñez. Almería paid a little more than four million euros to Peñarol, without completing the variables that would have catapulted him to the eight. At the age of 20 he was half the Almeria team, materializing 16 goals that kept the rojiblancos up throughout the season. With a contract until 2024, Benfica won one of the sweets of the last summer market paying just over 24 kilos, a figure that it intends to double soon. As a result of this operation, agent Edgardo Lasalvia placed Juan Manuel Gutiérrez and Cristian Olivera a year ago after Almería released three and two million euros, respectively, to Danubio and Rentistas. The midfielder has not yet made his debut with the first team and the winger was transferred last week to Peñarol until January 2022.

After conversations by Facundo Pellistri, the penultimate Uruguayan who could cross the Uruguay-Almería bridge is Cristian Álvarez (from the TMA agency, like Darwin and Olivera), for whom the UDA has a right of first refusal. The turn at the moment is for Brian Rodríguez, other of Óscar Tabárez's props. The Los Angeles-owned footballer is hoping to knock down the door with Rubi's more direct soccer after a faltering start, having played a dozen games since January, just four as a starter.