There comes a time in life when important decisions are made for the present and the future. Because when you have given too much you have to go and make room, thinking about tomorrow. Ignacio Lores Varela says enough to playing football. Born in 91, he arrived in Italy, at Palermo, in 2011. As a young man with great hopes, he immediately showed his talent in Serie A with the rosanero, then a series of experiences around Italy until he found the Gennaro Gattuso who had him trained in Sicily and wanted him with him in Pisa. The result was a promotion to Serie B which made him the darling of the Tuscan public. Then Ascoli and the return to Uruguay where at Penarol he carved out a new future as a midfielder to return to Italy. Taranto calls, Siena responds: Nacho returns to Tuscany, this time to the land of the Palio thanks to a blitz by Giorgio Perinetti who had already appreciated him in Palermo and managed to snatch him from his colleague Montervino. Then the return to Serie B, at the Cittadella. After a year and a half, a new call arrives from Perinetti: direction Avellino. The last stop this year before saying goodbye is Taranto. The body would also say to continue, the heart suggests following another path. In Ignacio Lores Varela’s future there is a managerial path. From the exam to a future on the field, the now former Uruguayan footballer retraces the stages of his career at TuttoMercatoWeb.
Lores, why do you say enough at thirty-three?
“Physically I could have continued playing, but mentally I needed other goals and new dreams. I felt inside the desire to start a new path. I will take the sports director exam, a role that has always fascinated me.”
Sunday 27 October, Taranto-Turris. What went through your mind at the final whistle?
“All the years of my career. From arriving in Palermo in Serie A as a kid to today. I thought about all the moments, about my former teammates, the directors, the coaches I met. But I reasoned with my heart: I gave everything, it was the right time to say enough.”
The best moment of your career?
“I was lucky enough to play with real champions. But my career has been all good. I arrived in Italy when I was a kid and I didn’t even know how to speak Italian. And today I want to stay here in another capacity. I want to live from football again. If I have to mention one moment in particular, certainly the best one was having achieved promotion with Pisa. A magical moment.”
The coach who gave you the most?
“Gattuso who I had both in Palermo and Pisa where we achieved a great goal. But also Diego López at Penarol. And I would have liked to work more with Gautieri and his staff, because at Taranto they proved to be great professionals and great men. I will always wish him the best. The coach is doing more than he should today.”
What happened in the moments after the final whistle of Taranto-Turris?
“I made a speech at the end of the match, to the team and to the coach. I was sad to stop because when you start playing you think you’ll never stop. I leave two years of contract, I felt part of a family. But looking inside I realized that I had nothing else to give.”
And now there is the future. Always in football. He is studying to be a manager.
“I would like to start a career as a sports director. He is a figure that I have always liked for how he is interpreted in Italy, both for the way he manages and watches football. I will take the exam in December. In the meantime I will go to watch matches, I would like to learn alongside a more experienced manager.”
His model?
“Giorgio Perinetti. It’s history, tradition, victories. The championships won speak for him. I experienced it up close on several occasions, from Palermo to Siena to Avellino. He is a model to follow, the dream for the future is to become a high level director like him. I was also lucky enough to meet Stefano Marchetti at Cittadella, he lives football in a visceral way and he has passed on a lot to me, I see him a bit like the Francesco Totti of directors: everyone knows he could make Serie A but he has his dream with the Cittadella, an example for all. He watches a lot of football, he knows all the players in all categories.
When I arrived in Italy I met Sean Sogliano, another high-level manager. But I also consider Luca Cattani, who I met in Palermo and who discovered many footballers, to be a model to follow: he is behind the scenes, but those who play football know how he works and what high-level footballers he has discovered. I also had the opportunity to appreciate Pierfrancesco Strano in Siena and Avellino alongside Perinetti: another manager who loves to work in the shadows and do the facts, looking for players without too much limelight.”
Ah, Palermo-Cittadella is on Sunday. She is a double ex.
“Palermo is a Serie A place, it deserves big stages. Cittadella is a historic square which for years has been technical and economic perfection in football terms. As mentioned, Stefano Marchetti is a model to follow.”
What does Taranto leave behind?
“The square, the city and the group are really beautiful. The situation is not easy but it was a good experience. I found a wonderful group of guys: they all proved to be men even in difficulties. It breaks my heart to leave the boys, the coach and his staff. Those who experience Taranto from the inside know that these men are giving everything for the cause. And I hope the team is safe.”