Ariel Ortega is a River idol. Raised in the Núñez club and a River Plate fan, he gave many joys to the riverplatenses. And he lived a very special moment in his career: one afternoon, he had to face his former club.
Things of football and professionalism, on Sunday, April 10, 2005, the Burrito went out on the field wearing the Newell's shirt. The fifth match of the Clausura was played at the Marcelo Bielsa Stadium.
Other times were being lived, football was more normal than nowadays (yes, although it seems incredible, visiting fans could go to watch their teams) and the River fans watched their idol wearing other colors with a mixture of affection and longing. "He has another shirt, but his heart is riverplatense," said those from the Núñez club. That was true. From all sides of the field, there was support for the talented midfielder. River's fans, of course, cheered him with the classic "ortegaaaaa, ortegaaaaa". The locals did not stay behind: they were convinced that now the Jujuy native had become a leper.
Before the start of the match, there were greetings for old acquaintances: Astrada and Hernán Díaz, the coaching duo, Gallardo, another talented player who knew about dribbling and ball controlling, received an affectionate hug.
River started strong: in 13 minutes, they were already winning 2-0 with goals from Tecla Farías. The millonario dominated and the Burrito could do little, but he had been close to scoring with a header on two occasions: there was no feeling that the love for River prevented him from giving his all for the Rosario team.
Newell's had a great team and had just won a championship. That squad included Justo Villar, Fernando Belluschi, the Mago Capria, and Ignacio Scocco, among others. Near the end of the first half, Gallardo had the chance to seal the game with a penalty. But the Muñeco failed, after a great save by the Paraguayan goalkeeper.
Everything would be different in the second half. Arsenio Ribeca's team, the interim coach who had been confirmed after Américo Gallego's departure, went out to turn the game around and in the eighth minute, they equalized with goals from Belluschi and Capria.
But the best was yet to come. At the 20th minute, Costanzo came out to block in a one-on-one with Belluschi and conceding a penalty. Who was in charge of taking them for Newell's? Yes, Ortega. Determined and without hesitation, the Burrito went straight to take the ball and take responsibility.
"We never doubted that he was going to take it, and that's what he did," they later acknowledged in the Newell's locker room. Ortega took a short run-up, looked at the goalkeeper, and waited for him to dive to the right so he could calmly place it on the other side.
He didn't celebrate it, and immediately ran to the center of the field, as if wanting the moment to pass as quickly as possible. The people of Newell's celebrated it like never before; for those from River, seeing the ball in the net was a stab in the heart.
"A very strange feeling, it had been a long time since I last scored a goal. I apologize to the River fans, but football is like that and has these things," summarized the Burrito, without much ado.
The afternoon would be perfect for the people of Rosario, who would score another goal near the end of the match (again Belluschi) to turn around a memorable game and take the three points.
There was still a long way to go in Ortega's sports history. Another match against River, another goal, this time celebrated and with a message to the River Plate leadership, the return to the Núñez club to become champion again with Simeone's team...
As the Burrito said: football is like that, it has these things.