After the celebration of the America Cup con Argentinaof the controversial video of the celebrations on social networks, of the accusation of racism against him, of the anger of his French colleagues Chelsea and his subsequent apology, Enzo Fernández played his second preseason match with the English team’s shirt. The former player River, Defense and Justice y Benfica (Portugal) was a starter in the friendly match played in Ohio, United States, against Manchester CityThe new coach of the Blues, the Italian Enzo Marescagave an hour of football to the Argentine, who was replaced in the second half by the Spaniard Marc Guiu.
While he was on the field, Fernández was the protagonist of the match and He did everything: he clashed twice with the Englishman Jack Grealishgave an exquisite pass to the Frenchman Christopher Nkunku -who failed when trying to define the play-, was very self-critical of himself for missing a pass and missed an incredible goal in the 41st minute of play. It was after a bad clearance by City’s German goalkeeper, Stefan Ortega. Fernández saw that the goal had been left free and tried to shoot. It was far away, outside the area, but in a straight direction. Nothing that his talent couldn’t solve. The ball, however, It went stuck to the goal postto Ortega’s relief. At that point, City won 2-0. Later, those led by Pep Guardiola They would extend their lead and go 4-0 with a hat-trick from Erling Haaland. Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke scored for the blue-shirted team.
The goal missed by Enzo Fernández
MarescaChelsea manager sought to put to rest the story about the accusation of racism that weighed on Fernandez since he took over the club. After all, it is the most expensive midfielder in Premier League history and a footballer who can perform for the London team as he does for the national team. That is why he forgave him. And he gave him the captain’s armband, which he used in the first friendly match last Wednesday against América de México: Fernández played the second half with the armband.
Fofana had already calmed the waters
As reported by LA NACION, once the first training session was completed, Enzo Fernandez in it Chelsea After his return from the Copa América -where he won the second championship with Argentina-, Wesley Fofanaone of the colleagues who had felt offended by the comments, He explained that he had a conversation with the Argentine and the scandal has already been banned. After the world champion publicly apologized, the French player accepted it and put an end to the discussion.
“You see Enzo is back and I am happy. We talked together. I explained to him why I didn’t like the video. He explained it to me. He asked for forgiveness. because I didn’t want to hurt the French fans or anyone. “I didn’t understand it when he sang it,” Fofana told reporters.
Moses Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez
He added: “I trust him because I know him. I know he’s not racist. The video is bad, but it’s not just about Enzo. This is the Argentine national team. “Enzo is in the video, but if he was from another country, he would have posted the same thing. There was definitely a lot of fuss because we play on the same team. But now that it’s over, it’s okay.”
Finally, he specified that the Argentine should not suffer any punishment for what happened: “I don’t think a significant penalty for Enzo is a good process. We need to educate about this because cultures are different in many countries. We don’t have the same education, for better or worse. But we need to educate everyone if we don’t want it to happen again.”
Enzo Maresca, Chelsea manager – Credits: @KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI
Something similar was said by Maresca, the coach, after those first steps taken by Fernández after the incident, the accusations and his apology. “The meeting was between Enzo and some of his teammates. Wesley [Fofana] was there. They talked to each other. It’s normal, sometimes the first reaction is not good. They know Enzo better than me and They know he’s a good guy.” The Italian, who promoted Leicester to the Premier League last season, will be managing Enzo for the first time.
Journalist Bobby Vincent, who covers Chelsea’s pre-season, reported on the London Football site that the players Axel Dsisa and Reece James (one of the captains) acted as mediators between Enzo and the rest of the team. The reporter adds that the Argentine promised to do a significant financial donation to an organization that fights discrimination, for an amount that the club will match.
The technical director did not want to go into details (“there is nothing more to add”), and preferred to consider the conflict over: “We all make mistakes. Enzo has already apologized four or five timesSince yesterday’s training session, the situation is completely normal. We all feel very comfortable, very good that Enzo is back. He had a chat with all of us to clarify that there was no bad intention. We have to be good at apologising, because sometimes it is difficult for us to even ask for forgiveness. All the boys accepted it. And since last night they were all together, talking and laughing.“It’s exactly what I expected, because I knew there was never any bad intentions.”
