Alan Varela

Alan Varela was born 40 minutes away from the Bombonera, more precisely in Isidro Casanova, and, as a boy, he started playing football at a Barcelona branch in Buenos Aires. He learnt his craft at the Blaugrana schools and the invitation he had always dreamed of came when he was 11. Dressed in the colours he loves, his rise was meteoric. Always evolving, he joined the Boca Juniors first team in 2019, when he signed the first professional contract of his career and, at the same time, made his debut for the Argentinian Under20 team. He made his debut for the club of his heart at the start of the following season and soon began to show the skills with and without the ball that characterise him. He won the first of two League Cups in 2020 and to the Cup Diego Armando Maradona, he added another Argentinian Cup in the same season. From then on, he definitely earned a place in the squads of the various coaches who led him (including Hugo Ibarra) and made his scoring debut in official competitions when he scored goal 8,000th in Xeneize history. In 2022, after becoming one of the owners of the captain's armband, he achieved his most desired goal and finally became Argentinian Champion. 110 games and countless good memories later, he said goodbye to the Bostera nation and joined the Blue Sea, who quickly saw him become a dynamo in the midfield and help them win a Portuguese Cup and a Super Cup.