Lucas Barrios, a name that Guangzhou fans love and hate. The good news is that his arrival has finally allowed Evergrande to make up for its tactical shortcomings in the center position, and it is not too much to hate that his departure is not honorable and it is not exaggerated to be called a "traitor". The former super standard king, after leaving China, can only be described as a drift in his career, and he played for eight clubs in eight years, changing teams on average every year. He now plays for the Argentine domestic club La Plata Gymnastics, which is headed by the famous maradona.
In September last year, maradona re-emerged as the manager of Argentine powerhouse La Plata Gymnastics, which also became a blockbuster news in Argentine football at that time. Due to a serious injury to the gymnastics forward, Maradona signed Barrios from Hurricane Athletic in the winter transfer market in January this year. Barrios started in the first three games of the team, but he did not score and La Plata gymnastics only got three draws. Since then, due to the swelling of Barrios' adductor muscle in his left leg, he has not been able to enter the team's roster in the last five rounds. Gymnastics de la Plata finishes 19th in the Regular Season of the Argentine Superliga, a ranking that is in line with the past results of the team led by the king of the ball.
Born in San Fernando, Argentina, Barrios spent the early part of his career in the lower divisions of Argentina and Chile. What really made him famous was in Chilean giants Colocolo, who, with his outstanding performances in the Chilean league, got the attention of Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund and brought it to Germany in 2009. Barrios not only helped the team win the Bundesliga title as the main striker, but also attracted the attention of the Paraguayan Football Association. As Barrios' mother was Paraguayan, he was officially naturalized in Paraguay in 2010 and represented the Paraguayan national team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
In May 2012, Guangzhou Evergrande Club brought Barrios to China for a record transfer fee of 8.5 million euros, and he also became the champion of the Chinese Super League at that time. During his one year with Evergrande, Barrios scored 13 goals in 32 appearances and had seven assists. In June 2013, Barrios refused to return to the team after the holiday, contacted a number of European clubs to seek a transfer, and claimed that Evergrande was in arrears for three months. Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club, on the other hand, filed a lawsuit against FIFA for Barrios, demanding a six-month global ban. After that, Barrios took the initiative to apologize to Guangzhou Evergrande Club, and finally the Paraguayan moved to Russian Super League powerhouse Sparta Moscow in the middle of the league, ending a short chinese Super League career.
However, after leaving Guangzhou Evergrande, Barrios' career has deteriorated, and he has had to change teams almost every year for eight years. He has played for Sparta Moscow, Montpellier, Palmeiras, Gremio, Hurricane Athletic and other teams, but has not been able to leave a bright performance, which may be the main reason for his continuous wandering.
Since Evergrande entered the Chinese Super League, it has not stopped chasing excellent centers, whether it is the former meritorious coach Lippi, or the current Cannavaro, perhaps this is an obsession of Italian coaches. From Barrios and Gilardino to Martinez and Talisca, it is fair to say that Barrios is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate for Evergrande, his sense of smell and running position in front of the goal is excellent, he has excellent individual combat ability, and can also be used as a fulcrum to create opportunities for teammates, which greatly enriched the tactical play of Evergrande at that time. Barrios, who has been wandering for many years and is 36 years old, does not know whether he regrets the decision to leave Evergrande that year.