– You go on. You have a future. I will go.
Darwin Nuñez has often told about the moment when his older brother practically stated that his own football career had ended, dictated by necessity.
The sons of the poor family were promising in their field, but Darwin was clearly ahead. Isoveli had progressed to Uruguay’s third-highest league level when faced with the choice. The family had only one chance to pursue their son’s football dream, and Darwin was the luckier of them all.
The older brother even trained with the main league team Peñarol, but after the tragedy that hit the family, he returned to the north, to the small town of Artigas. Darwin, on the other hand, stayed alone in the capital Montevideo. You can’t get much further from home within the borders of Uruguay. Nuñez had gone there when he was 13 years old.
The path to the awareness of the giant clubs was long, slow, and in the case of Nuñez, unlucky. After getting there, the time was reduced, because in a couple of years more and more outrageous transfer sums were paid for the same player. Liverpool also moved quickly this summer after Nuñez made his breakthrough in Europe.
The striker’s second season in Portugal had been a success, with a constant streak of goals. In the 28 league matches he played, he scored 26 goals.
Nuñez was a constant threat in matches against his future club.
The winter was only Nuñez’s third in Europe. Benfica had bought him in 2020 from Almeria, in Spain’s second division. The development curve pointed sharply upwards, prompting Liverpool to hit the biggest transfer sum in club history, 75 million euros up front and possibly 25 million euros more if certain conditions are met.
– He plays without fear. He is strong. He can dictate the tempo, brings energy, is a threat in the middle and on the wing. He is aggressive and dynamic in his movements. It is important to realize that he is still a work in progress. He is definitely aware of it himself, the head coach of Liverpool Jurgen Klopp kuhui (you switch to another service).
The readings were still dizzying compared to what Nuñez had climbed to the top.
The border between Uruguay and Brazil is crossed by a 300-kilometer river. The bridge that crosses it connects the cities of Artigas in Uruguay and Quarai in Brazil into a close community.
The home of the Nuñez family was also not far from the river’s currents. Heavy rains are common in the area and caused the river to flood with irregular regularity, at the same time testing the durability of modest dwellings. It was not worth getting used to any permanent possessions, because the forces of nature took the movables of the home with them several times.
Father worked at construction sites here and there. He got the majority of the family’s small budget, which the cleaning mother supplemented by collecting glass bottles from the streets to sell them back to stores for reuse.
Nuñez managed to score nine goals in his 18 matches for Liverpool in the fall.
Many adored soccer players have emerged from similar conditions in South America. Uruguay also has a history, especially in top class strikers.
Luis Suarez is one of the most famous and successful of his generation, the top scorer in three major European leagues and the best goal scorer for the national team. Edinson Cavani has played in four of Europe’s biggest leagues and represented the national team for 14 years. A little older Diego Forlán has already ended his career, whose clubs included Manchester United, among others. His goals led Uruguay to the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2010.
The goal-slinging is therefore an unlikely, but viable path from poor starting points to stardom. In the tube vision of the teenage Nuñez, it was also the only view of a bright future.
Back then, Nuñez stood out physically. He was tall and thin, but strong and fast. He was already a good shot, so he was a constant threat to score, even if weaker defenders could keep him out of the most dangerous areas. The characteristics convinced the talent scout of the big club Peñarol, who had traveled over 700 kilometers to the northern part of the country to watch the match of the best players in the region.
Interest was aroused immediately based on the first sight. However, it was too early then, and 14-year-old Nuñez was not ready to live hundreds of kilometers from home as part of a relentless football machine. He went to the academy to try his wings and stayed for a couple of months before coming back.
A year later, new arrangements were made. Peñarol was still excited and got Darwin’s big brother. The second time was already much better and Nuñez was able to focus on his playing. The path to the top began to take shape until the legs were taken from under me – one literally.
The Spanish divari was finally Nuñez’s gateway to Europe.
The breakdown of the cruciate ligament in the knee was harder to fix than homesickness, because time didn’t seem to be doing its job either. The surgery and the treatment that followed were not enough, because when Nuñez stepped on the field, “even when he was healthy”, something was crooked. The one and a half year saga put a career on the line as the pain grew unbearable.
Nuñez went through the rehab process, tried to return to the lineup, and was disappointed. The player, who left the field in tears, had to undergo a new operation after a year-long recovery – and another half-year sick leave. As a teenager, those periods of absence are usually the beginning of the end when it comes to football dreams.
Years of rapid appreciation
A sense of purpose unites the words of those who followed Nuñez’s rise closely, and the will fueled by a trying childhood to let the whole family go helped them through the injury crisis. After his second surgery, Nuñez finally returned to his former self and was able to focus on his career.
Goals at club level were scarce, but the under-20 World Cup was a turning point. Successes in the shop window in front of the eyes of countless clubs spawned the long-awaited one-way ticket across the Atlantic.
Nuñez had managed to score in Peñarol’s shirt in only two matches, but it was enough for Almeria, who played in the second tier of Spain, who surprised by paying just under five million dollars. The club’s sports director later said that he was convinced specifically of Nuñez’s personal difficulties, which he saw as an indication of the character of the winner.
The Youth World Cup was Nuñez’s breakthrough under the eyes of European clubs.
After moving up to Uruguay’s top flight at the age of 19, Nuñez started paying his parents’ rent. As he rose to stardom in Europe’s biggest leagues, he bought them an entire farm ten kilometers outside the city, as he had planned. The dream had come true, even though the venue was on the second tier of the series.
However, as a sign of his hunger, Nuñez was only at the beginning of his journey. The meritorious 16 goals in Almeria’s shirt kept the lower league visit in Spain short. The next move was to Portugal and Benfica, now already for 24 million euros. There, the attacker really blossomed and made the jump between tiers look like child’s play.
The sharp rise also explains Liverpool’s enthusiasm. Nuñez scored 26 goals in 28 matches in the Portuguese top flight, so where could he be in three years’ time? Especially for Liverpool, the events in April certainly helped, because the teams met in the playoffs of the Champions League and Nuñez scored two goals in Liverpool’s net.
Last season was a continuous scoring streak for Nuñez.
With a total of six hits, he was the best goal scorer in the tournament. In the Portuguese league, he scored the king of goals. It was only a few weeks after the end of the season before Liverpool presented the Uruguayan as their new striker signing.
– I’m not surprised that he got to a team like Liverpool, because I know his level. However, I never thought that everything would happen so quickly. Let’s be honest: the amount is huge for a 23-year-old. There is pressure on his shoulders. He is looked at differently because of the transfer fee, who coached Nuñez in Almeria Pedro Emanuel pondered of The Athletic (you will switch to another service) in an interview in the summer.
Change of cap in the national team
The World Cup is Nuñez’s first prestigious men’s tournament. Last year, he was named to the South American Championship team, but an injury forced the player to the sidelines. It was about a knee injury again, but a couple of months of rehabilitation was enough.
Now a place would be offered as the pet of the whole nation, 12 fast years after the dream summer in South Africa.
Then Uruguay, led by Forlán, won the initial group, where France, among others, played. In the playoffs, it knocked off Korea, thanks to Suárez’s two goals. In the semi-final against Ghana, Suárez received a red card after deliberately blocking a goal with his hand, which stretched the decision to a penalty shootout. Uruguay won and went on to the top four with huge fanfare, where they lost to the Netherlands.
It’s hard to displace legends, but for them, the most memorable moments start to be specifically in the memories.
The 43-year-old Forlán has already tried to start his coaching career. The 35-year-old Suárez is back in Uruguay’s top flight, Cavani, who is only a month younger, is playing in Spain. With the country’s iconic strikers at the end of the road, Nuñez’s meteoric rise comes at the right time for the national team.
He has closely followed Suárez’s footsteps, as he too moved to Liverpool in his early twenties. At the World Cup, Nuñez is still on the same team as the goal spitters of the previous generation, but the hope would be that the torch could be passed on.
Sources: BBC, The Athletic, Mirror, Daily Mail, Telegraph, El Observador