Six months after arriving in Liga MX, Paraguayan striker Darío Lezcano dreams of winning the scoring championship in the Clausura 2020 and following in the footsteps of Mauro Quiroga, who arrived as an unknown and was crowned the best striker.
He started the tournament without hesitation; three matches into the competition, he has scored three goals, three less than he did in the entire Apertura 2019.
"God willing, that is the idea: to do my best and score goals in every match. It's a dream for me to be the top scorer in a championship," said the striker in an interview with ESPN Digital.
He praised the quality of attackers in Mexican football, such as Quiroga himself, Julio Furch, and André-Pierre Gignac among others, and considered it a dream to be able to compete with them, although "we know that Gignac is in a big club and there is a big difference, but I will try to do my best and maximum with my work and my qualities."
When asked directly, he dismissed the notion that he came to make a name for himself in Mexico, but rather "to do my job very well and represent my country. I really like football and I always give my all wherever I play, because that's how Paraguayans are."
Lezcano quickly adapted to the national environment and "it was easy for me; that happens when you want it and work in the right way. Since I arrived here, I set that goal for myself: to work and do it well," he added.
The Paraguayan was signed in mid-2019 and after the second or third match, the club decided to acquire him permanently, even though the purchase option had not expired yet.
Lezcano says that 70 percent of his contract belongs to the club and the other 30 percent to him, which is a legacy for his family. He has a three-year contract and hopes to fulfill it without any problems.
"I spent most of my career in Switzerland and Germany; we were comfortable there. I came back to America for the family; it had been 12 years in Europe and we wanted to breathe a different air, speak in Spanish, since over there it's always German."
Last year, he returned to the Latin environment with his wife and four children (three Swiss and one Paraguayan) and he doesn't hesitate to say that he wants to put down roots in Mexico.
"I played in the national team with Paulo da Silva, 'Pájaro' Benitez, Pablo Aguilar, (Miguel) Samudio and they told me that Mexican football was great, competitive, and that's why I came here."
Although he scored around 50 goals in Europe, he says that his job is to work for the team, regardless of whether he scores, if he helps others score, or if others do. "If I play well and we win points, it's fine because we all contribute. My role is to help the team. I move a lot and try to fight up front."
Lezcano rejected being surprised by his good performance, "because I trust in my abilities" and assured that he is finding what he wanted in the country. "The playoffs are the best part because they are home and away matches and anything can happen."
He did not give up on Paraguay
At 29 years old, Lezcano has in mind to play in a World Cup, as "it's my childhood dream." He was part of the early process towards Russia 2018, but disagreements with national coach Francisco Arce made him step aside.
He denies that in 2017 he resigned from wearing the national team jersey, as interpreted by the media at the time.
"It's a lie that I resigned; I had a fight with the coach and I said that as long as he was in charge, I wouldn't return, until another coach who wanted to count on me arrived. Thank God, they called me back in 2019."
He affirms that Mexican football is a good showcase to continue being called up. "What I did last season helped me a lot, I arrived and quickly adapted, and I hope it continues like that."