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All who know well Renato Tapia they always speak of “his good head.” That emotional strength and early maturity that were his carry-on when he traveled to the Netherlands as a minor. Tapia, convinced of his conditions, resisted the reverse of the distrust of some technicians to become today an indisputable with the shirt of the Celta Vigo. The Sofa Score portal put it back in the ideal eleven from LaLiga. That’s how ideal Spanish football is for the steering wheel of the selection. That’s how ideal it is to see him on the same poster with Messi, Suárez and Griezmann.
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Present as starter in 95 percent of Celta matches This season, the white-and-red steering wheel is a constant revaluation in the European pass market. Today, according to the Transfermarkt portal, Renato’s pass is worth ten million euros. Spanish media they already place him in a top club in the world, of those who are used to playing the Champions League every year, and the main statistics pages keep it at the top of the successful passes and ball takes away. In recent months, Renato Tapia has ceased to be the captain of the future to become our most present ambassador.
The coach Óscar García left, the first to trust Tapia, and the Argentine Eduardo Coudet arrived. Things did not change for Renato Tapia. He continued as an immovable holder despite the replacement. Coudet came from directing Paolo Guerrero at Inter in Porto Alegre. One of his first surprises was meeting a decisive South American midfielder to balance the blue eleven. Was Tapia, a 25-year-old boy as Peruvian and as warrior as Paolo.
“The Peruvian has become the anchor of Celta. Coudet has placed him ahead of the defense to balance a team in which all the players he has ahead are a good handful of players “wrote a month ago the journalist Rafa Valero, of the Spanish newspaper Marca. Better defined, almost impossible. Renato is the anchor, the impassable, the most difficult customs. The steering wheel that reserves the right of admission.
SofaScore made the ideal team of the LaLiga date and included Renato Tapia, (Photo: AFP)
READ ALSO: “We are happy with the performance of Renato Tapia”, says vice president of Celta de Vigo
Early maturity
Jaime Noriega Bentín was one of the first leaders to trust Renato Tapia’s conditions. When the midfielder was still beginning puberty, he took him to the Esther Grande club in Bentín where he was able to exploit all his talent until he was transferred, while still a minor, to the Dutch club Twente.
“He was in school (academies). After we left Cristal, some parents asked us to go to EGB with us. Renato’s parents were in that group “remembers Noriega, who was president of Sporting Cristal.
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Tapia, in those years, could alternate in any position in the midfield and also had a lot of goals. But he not only stood out for his talent and technique, but for his imposing personality. An innate leader. “His maturity was very early, always above his average age. In addition, it is always good to remember that he had the support of his entire family ”, Noriega comments.
The former Feyenoord midfielder is defined by most as an athlete with high emotional intelligence. “Renato traveled several times to internships in Europe. And he was very young, there are boys who do not adapt to that. That it costs them a lot “, concludes the former Rimense manager, today retired from the sports circle before the closure of Esther Grande de Bentín, as a training club, in 2018.
Pedro Aquino and Renato Tapia playing in the category 95 of Sporting Cristal. (Photo: Dieter Schreiber).
READ ALSO: Renato Tapia spoke about his first months in Celta and said that he feels “very good and they have welcomed me phenomenally”
The ideal boy for Celta
What has determined the success of Renato Tapia in Iberian football? “The determining factor has been the total trust placed by Celta’s sports management and the technical commands it has had. There was a follow-up of more than a year before signing him. There they were convinced that it would be an almost perfect piece to fit their game model “says Carlos Gonzales, Renato’s representative since his time at EGB.
For Gonzales, The fundamental thing in Renato’s development was the family support that he had at all times. “They are reaping what they sowed and cultivated for a long time, based on efforts, sacrifices and family unity”, adds Gonzales, who will soon have a lot of work to do in evaluating Tapia’s future. For now, the concrete thing is that he has a contract until 2024 with Celta.
Infographic: Luis Huaitán.
Premature leader
“Tapia is a talent like many. But mind and professionalism how few. Those are the elite players. Gareca’s team analyzes physical abilities. Football events, human capacities. In that election, Peru improved, but the amount is still insufficient because little is formed. Renato is a leader by nature, he never stays silent “, says Daniel Ahmed, who called Renato for the 2013 U20, despite the fact that he came from a category two years younger.
The ‘Turk’ Ahmed, still trying to recover from the mood slump due to the decline of Alianza Lima, asks to review cases such as Tapia to re-route educational football in the country. “The mind and professionalism are capacities that are not adequately developed in Peru. That plus in the last minute where you lose a game. That plus to earn it. There is the mind “, explains the former intimate and Sporting Cristal coach.
From left to right: Renato Tapia, Edison Flores, Alexi Gomez, Miguel Araujo, Andy Polo, Wilder Cartagena and Yordi Reyna, part of the Sub 20 squad that participated in the South American in that category in 2013. (Photo: FPF)
Coach head
We still have at least ten seasons left to continue seeing Renato Tapia in competitive football. Nevertheless, by position and character it is impossible not to project him as a coach in the medium term. “I do see Renato as a technician in the future, or even as a professional in sports management. His leadership and personality is proven. He has done well at Celta because everyone has trusted him since he got off the plane. He is happy and comfortable in Vigo ”, says César Vivar, a journalist from Ovación who has closely followed his journey through European football.
The comments about the good performances of Tapia are already a routine in Spanish football. Its wear, its good location and, above all, its sobriety for the brand stand out. Even Former Celta figures, such as Rafinha, have taken time to virtually applaud the performances of the ‘Cabezón’, as his teammates tell him closest in the Peruvian team.
Renato Tapia … 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 # celtiña
– Rafinha Alcantara (@Rafinha) December 4, 2020
When the end of the season is still a few months away, Tapia already has 1799 minutes on the court. In other words, he has already surpassed all his numbers since he arrived in football on the Old Continent. He will undoubtedly be one of the two or three footballers of the Peruvian team who will arrive with the greatest number of minutes played in Ricardo Gareca’s next call-up., in March.
“The difference is his personality and all the mileage he has put in the Netherlands. At 25 he is a solid player “, explains the sports director of the Peruvian Football Federation, Juan Carlos Oblitas. Renato Tapia, with his good head, also becomes an emblem of Ricardo Gareca’s latest trial. A stage of the white and red where as important as playing the ball well is taking a break. And think. Always think.