United's 17-year-old striker Alejandro Ganacgio has flown to Argentina to join the Pampas Eagles' World Cup preparations. The talented youngster was filmed shaking hands with coach Scaloni and training with big-name teammates like Messi on the training ground.
Ganacho was born in Madrid, Spain, however, his mother was born in Argentina and therefore has dual citizenship. In the past, he has played for the Spanish under-18 youth team, but the Argentine Football Association has made a quick start and recruited him to the senior national team. At this point, Ganacho had not even made a debut for The Manchester United first team, and the sincerity of the Argentine team impressed him, so he chose to accept the challenge.
"It's going to be an honor for me." Referring to the selection for the Argentine team, Garganjo commented, "I have dual citizenship, so this is a unique opportunity. I was born in Madrid, but my mom and his family are both Argentinian. Therefore, representing Argentina is an honor, just like representing the Spanish national youth. I'm happy, and of course I'm excited."
The Argentine media is optimistic that Garganjo can make his debut in the World Preliminary Tournament with Venezuela, after all, the team has already locked in the ticket for the 2022 Qatar World Cup final, and it is completely bold to use newcomers. "I can't wait for that moment to come and then take full advantage of the opportunity." My mom and my entire family, including my mother's Argentinian blood, and my father's Spanish blood, would be proud of my progress. We are a close family, and as children, I will always support these two national teams, which is something they are proud of."
In Argentina's big list, there are big stars such as Paris Saint-Germain's Messi and Di Maria, Inter's Lautaro Martinez and Ganajo's old club Atletico Madrid core Correa. Although the Manchester United youngster admires Cristiano Ronaldo, he also dreams of playing alongside Messi. "It's always been my dream to play in the same team with a star player of Messi's level." Ghanaian Joe said, "As a player, I will learn a lot from them and take the opportunity to improve myself. Being named to Argentina will get people to pay attention to me, but I'm still young, I'm just starting out in my career and I'm going to focus on playing and improving."
Ganajo thanked key figures in his career, including the Manchester United coach. "My family supports every decision I make, and agent Carlos is like my family." Ghana joe said: "At Manchester United, I would also like to thank all the coaches and team-personnel who have been helping me improve. Travis (Pinnion), the coach of the under-18 youth team, I worked with him for 8 months, he gave me a lot of help and I owe it to him for my progress. I also played on the under-23 youth team of Neil Wood and Neil Ryan and they were also good coaches, always helping me and giving me the best. I would also like to thank Justin (Cochrane) and Darren (Fletcher), the other two people at the club who cared about me and supported my decisions."
Garganjo revealed that Argentina had contacted him months earlier. "Outside the club, I am very grateful to Mascherano, the manager of the Argentine under-20 youth team. They had been interested in me two or three months ago, and since then he had been paying close attention to me, thinking about me, being attentive and thoughtful."
What got Ganajo in the attention of Manchester United fans was this season's FA Youth Cup, where he scored five goals in four games, especially in Old Trafford against Everton, which was enthusiastically spread on social networking sites and boosted Ganajo's fame. "It was a unique and unforgettable experience, playing in a place like the Theatre of Dreams, which has a long history and is a wonderful stadium. So far, everything has gone well, I've done well, scoring 5 goals in 4 games."
However, Ganacho is not satisfied with this season's achievements, as United were unfortunately eliminated by Dortmund in the Europa League. "So far this season has been good, it's been intense and busy for me, I've played in all kinds of races. Ghanaian Joe said, "But in the UEFA Junior League, it is a pity that we were eliminated in the round of 16 penalty shoot-out. Luckily we reached the final in the FA Youth Cup and if we were lucky we could win the title. Me and the whole team will try to win, we enjoy this season, it's inevitable."
Ganajo, who joined Manchester United in 2020, has also become accustomed to life in Manchester. "My family and I, including my parents and brother, have lived here for 18 months. We had a great time, everyone loved the city of Manchester and the people here. We have a good life, and thanks to the welcome and help of the club, we can live and work in peace."