Éver Banega, Director of the Xeneize Orchestra

They sell their biggest stars at high prices, principally to European clubs, and always find reinforcements from their cantera or from smaller Argentinian sides. The world’s attention turns to Boca when a youngster debuts in the jersey of the Xeneizes (the club’s nickname), because everyone knows they’ll have a future “crack”.

When Fernando Gago signed with Real Madrid last month, no one went crazy in the Bombonera, everything was planned so that the number five of the Bosteros (another nickname) would not remain orphaned. Éver Banega (29-6-88, Rosario, Argentina), a very promising boy of 18, would be the new director of the Boca orchestra. Another first class number five?

Six months later we can speak of Banega as a reality. Libertadores champion and unquestionable starter in the team’s spine, he has progressed enormously and to play surrounded by people like Palermo, Palacio or Riquelme means a lot to him -It’s very important to me, I’m a long way from reaching their level, but little by little I’m learning things. He’s also an admirer of Fernando Redondo and Fernando Gago, master and disciple of those he idolizes – Redondo on TV and Gago here in Boca are the ones I always watched, they were models I looked to for my development. And he still maintains contact with the Real Madrid number five – Gago is a model, I always had him close. We talk a lot and he gives me a lot of advice. His debut at Boca was certainly precocious, and his arrival at the Casa Amarilla (Boca’s football school) happened in the blink of an eye – 3 years ago I was at my neighborhood club and now I’m starting with Boca. Everything has been so fast; I can’t believe that this is happening. It’s understandable, since in this short period of time Éver was rejected by the school of Newell’s Old Boys, something that Boca will always thank them for. But before he entered the Casa Amarilla, he was on a team in the Alianza Sport boy’s school and among the many memories of this period were the derbies between Alianza Sport and Grandoli, the two biggest football factories of the city of Rosario. Messi played at Grandoli – We met each other in several matches, it wasn’t so bad that he was ready for Barcelona because he always destroyed us, you could already see he was a superstar.

There are many important people in his life, but without a doubt manager Alfio Basile is one of the keys to his invasion of the first team. A month after he arrived at Boca, “Coco” Basile was enamored of the play of this boy who made the whole team function. As a reward he selected him for a friendly in Israel, where he ended up being the man of the match – It was an enormous satisfaction to have traveled for the first time with the first team, at the beginning I was nervous but soon I forgot everything and played with ease, like I always do – said the "crack".

Next he went to the South American U-20 tournament, where the Albiceleste finished second behind Brazil. An injury in the match with Chile prevented him from finishing the tournament, but he left many great impressions, so much so that Chilean defender Mauricio Isla even said he played like Maradona. These days we can enjoy seeing him in the U-20 World Cup that’s taking place in Canada, and where Argentina are one of the great favorites to retain their title.

He maintains tempo like a veteran, he doesn’t hide when he has to be the motor of the team and he has an exquisite touch on the ball. This is Éver Banega, the brains of Boca Juniors, and it won’t be long before we see in Europe, him pulling off tricks and making the crowd rise from their seats. But they won’t be going crazy in Boca the day he leaves, safe in the knowledge that in the Casa Amarilla there is another number five, a prince dreaming of becoming the king of the Bombonera.