"When all the children were going to try out at Cerro Porteño or Nacional, I decided to go to Presidente Hayes' soccer school," says Mario Eduardo Villasantti Adorno, (37 years old) who had lived in the Tacumbú neighborhood since he was a child.
At 16 years old, always at Fortín de las Estrellitas, but as the third goalkeeper of the first team, his club was already playing in the First Division, he felt consolidated despite being a substitute. But in a couple of weeks, his luck would change. The first-choice goalkeeper Wilfrido Azar would undergo knee surgery and the second-choice goalkeeper would suffer an injury, giving Villasantti the great opportunity to debut in the first team. He remembers and expresses, "I remember that day perfectly, it was March 24, 1998. We were playing against Libertad, at their stadium. We won 1-0 and I saved a penalty. It was a dream for me, as a young boy you don't fully understand but sometimes I think about it and feel proud, it really is something that marks you for life," he recalls with joy.
Already settled, Mario signed with Tacuary, where he stayed for a year and a half (2003-2005), his next club would be Fernando de la Mora in 2005, where he played half a season, and the other half of 2006 he played for Sportivo Iteño. The second half of 2006 would be one of his worst seasons, as Fernando de la Mora ended up getting relegated. But it was unthinkable that it would be the prelude to his historic year, not only for him but also for an entire republic (Luque).
BLUE AND GOLD PASSION. In 2007, he signed with Sportivo Luqueño, accompanied by a magical team that achieved the great triumph of winning the Apertura championship that year. When asked about the factors that lead a team to win a championship apart from the football side, he says, "It has a lot to do with the psychological aspect, in Luque you develop a sense of belonging. I remember that we used to stay in the club's grandstand during concentration, but we were better than a 5-star hotel. Everything was blue and yellow (smiles), the blankets, the bedside table was a piggy bank, the windows. And most importantly, the fans, they are passionate. For them, Luque is the best in the world and we gave them that joy."
A fun anecdote that Supermario shared: "I became such a fan that I painted a part of my house blue and gold," he says.
After that year, he went to Chile to play for Audax Italiano for a year, then he returned to Sportivo Luqueño, but the team was no longer the same as the one that had won the title. The main players had already moved to other clubs.
He belonged to his beloved Kure Luque until 2011, to start a new football career in Peru, a country that not only welcomed him in football but also where he would become a citizen.
In 2012, Ayacucho FC would be his club, Mario remembered that his stay in Peru was not going to be so long, but on the contrary, he became a citizen to not occupy the famous foreign player spot. Alongside his football career, he always dedicated time to study. "I studied journalism, psychology, sports management, in one of the most prestigious universities in Peru," he recalled. It is worth mentioning that in Paraguay, he had already graduated as a lawyer, in 2009, at the National University of Asunción, where he completed his studies.
Until last year, he played for the Peruvian club Cianciano, he is currently based in Paraguay and does not rule out continuing to play at a professional level. But he pointed out that, "I see myself in the role of a sports executive, hopefully in my beloved Luque, thanks to the studies I have undertaken for this purpose," he concluded.
"We played neighborhood tournaments as children with Julio Dos Santos and Achucarro, we were a sensational group."
"I was a teammate of Roque Santa Cruz at the National College of the Capital, we didn't study much, we played football all day long."