Who is Franco Zanelatto, why did basketball mark his destiny, and how was his time in Spain?

Beginnings and Basketball

Uruguayan Carlos Zanelatto has always been dedicated to basketball. With his good and long experience as a player and coach in this discipline, he received the proposal to come to work in Peru, a country where he would work as a technical director for Club Regatas and the senior national team. It was then that, together with his Paraguayan wife Olga Téllez, he decided to move to Lima with his family. Among them, the seven-year-old boy Franco.

Despite being involved with basketball throughout his life, Franco grew up with a passion rooted in football, the only sport he decided to practice with the idea of becoming a professional. At the beginning, the footballer used to play as a right winger and center forward in intercollegiate championships, where he stood out for his speed and physical strength. It was then that he was seen by the San Martín University, the team that trained him and where he got to know professional football after making his debut in the first division.

Spain and Journey:

During his youth training, the 'santo' team chose to send Franco Zanelatto for a few months to the Marcet High Performance Academy in Barcelona, Spain. In this academy, the footballer who was already settling in as a winger learned tactics, handling of both profiles, and intensity, which he would seek to put to the test upon his return to Lima, in the hope of being able to debut in the first division.

It was then, upon his return, that he made his debut at the age of 18 with San Martin University against UTC in 2019. However, his first goal at the professional level would come against Cantolao in 2020, a season where he enjoyed more regularity, playing 18 matches. In the following year, 2021, the footballer played 14 matches and scored four goals. Due to his good form, Alianza Lima became interested in the player and made him a three-season contract offer.

Alianza Lima and the Peruvian National Team:

Despite belonging to Alianza Lima, the club decided to loan Franco Zanelatto to Alianza Atlético de Sullana in 2022 due to the foreign player quota, as he had not yet been naturalized. In his place, the team signed Ecuadorian Darlin Leiton to play in the same position, which did not yield good results since he hardly played as a starter and ended up being loaned out. On the other hand, Zanelatto played 26 matches as a starter, scoring seven goals and providing three assists with his team, leading to comparisons.

Towards the end of 2022, Zanelatto received his Peruvian naturalization papers and it was a fact that Alianza Lima was going to count on him for the formation of the squad for 2023. And so it was. Although injuries have affected him throughout the season, the player is currently in his best form under the guidance of Mauricio Larriera. At the moment, he has played 20 matches (14 as a starter), scoring four goals and providing one assist.

It is worth noting that, amid all the bad streak of injuries that the La Victoria team had during the season, Franco Zanelatto was used in an unprecedented position and in a special context. The winger started as a right-back against Universitario de Deportes in the Clausura Tournament's classic match, which ended 0-0 at the Alejandro Villanueva stadium. This was an emergency measure taken by Guillermo Salas, the coach at that time, due to injuries to Gino Peruzzi and Edinson Chávez, the natural players in that position.

The 23-year-old footballer has been called up by Juan Reynoso to be part of the local players' mini-training camp prior to the matches against Chile and Argentina. In other words, if he convinces 'Cabezón' to include him in the second double round of the Qualifiers, Zanelatto will wait as an alternative for either the right or left winger position in the 'blanquirroja', competing with Andy Polo, Bryan Reyna, Joao Grimaldo, Jhamir D'Arrigo, Marcos López, or Luis Advíncula as a second option.