The reception Juan Roman Riquelme received on Sunday afternoon as he finally returned to the club that moulded him into one of the greatest playmaking talents of the modern era was moving in the extreme...
Argentinos Player Loses Teeth After Head Tackle, Says He'd Do It Again
Sep 25, 2013
Prima donnas, divers, injury-fakers: professional football players are often marked out as far from the bravest sportsmen around.
Argentinos Juniors youngster Gaspar Iniguez, however, is determined to set the record straight.
On seeing Boca trickster Cristian Erbes escape from him during Sunday's clash, the midfielder threw himself head-first into a tackle. Iniguez lost a tooth and broke two more, and also picked up a yellow card for his efforts.
Speaking to Ole after the incident though, the valiant 19 year old was unrepentant, despite sporting a rather crooked smile. "I could only see that Erbes was on the way to goal and, as I had slipped, I had to find a way to stop him. Throwing myself head-first was the only option," he explained, while confessing that his mother called him "crazy" after the unplanned dental work.
"I would dive in that way again, with my head. Even if afterwards my team-mates wind me up for it."
Indeed, the Argentinos playing staff, according to Iniguez, has been merciless since Sunday's heroics, even though his unorthodox stop helped the side take a 0-0 draw at home to Boca. Even coach Ricardo Caruso Lombardi has not missed the chance to get some shots in.
"They call me the toothless wizard... they say that since I got hit in the face, it might look a little better now!"
Iniguez will undergo emergency dental work to fix the gaping hole his tackle left, but in the meantime is training with a mouthguard and has made himself available for the weekend's trip to Newell's Old Boys.
