It's been a long time since Barranquilla's Roberto Meléndez Arena has seen such a grand spectacle after Luis Díaz (who now plays for Liverpool) left for Europe! A few days ago, the Barranquilla youth club held a ceremony for the arrival of the Chinese Super League veteran Quintero, and 41,000 fans flocked to the stadium to witness this historic moment, as the "Legendary No. 10", which used to belong to Valderrama and Giovanni Hernández as well as Luis Díaz, was replaced by the "Juanfé" Quintero, who is now playing for Liverpool. Juan Felipe Quintero!
The Legend of Barranquilla Youth History #10
Since the "post-Luis" - "Diaz era", Barranquilla Youth has become less and less competitive, and even with the introduction of top center forward Miguel Borja by big boss Fouad Schar, the team has struggled to make it to the top three of the league.
In order to get the team out of the doldrums of recent years, the Schaal family was eager to sign a heavyweight star. Finally, after a long run by Alex Schaal (Fouad Schaal's son), the Barranquilla youngsters beat out Flamengo, Brazil International and other overseas giants and signed "Juan Fay" Quintero to a three-year contract at an annual salary of $2.2 million.
Quintero hugs his new teammates
After the successful completion of the heavy transfer, Fuad Shahr was highly praised by Barranquilla fans. In fact, both he and his son Alex captured the player's psyche well throughout the negotiations: "Juan Fernando (referring to Quintero) doesn't want to leave Colombia, he wants to stay and play here. It seems that he has already agreed with a Brazilian club, but the truth is that he just wants to stay in China with his wife and daughter.
Quintero brought his family to the joining ceremony
On January 16, local time, Quintero completed a routine medical check-up in Medellín before arriving in Barranquilla on a private jet. Roberto started two hours before the joining ceremony - a large number of fans gathered around the Arena Melendez and 1,000 police officers were sent by the relevant parties to maintain order at the scene.
Fans around the stadium
At 3 p.m. local time, Quintero entered the Roberto Melendez Arena with his wife in tow and, with 41,000 fans watching, first circled the field before walking to the center of the field to receive the adulation of the fans.
Quintero greets the fans
As part of the joining ceremony, Venezuelan international Luis Gonzalez handed over his No. 10 jersey to Quintero. Although he maintained a smile throughout the process, according to Colombian media reports, Luis Gonzalez was reluctant to hand over the No. 10, and even vaguely expressed his inner dissatisfaction on social media, but after all, "the arm can't be twisted", under the compulsion of the big boss, Fouad Shahr, he could only wear the No. 11 jersey.
Gonzalez hands Gentile the No. 10 jersey.
Speaking about the goals for the 2023 season, Quintero solemnly told the fans that the team will fight for all the titles, and that he believes in the team's strengths. Head Coach Arturo Reyes - in fact, Reyes - has had this in mind for a long time: "Juanfé is used to cutting from the right and he has a good view of the overall situation. He is a very versatile player, very good at short, medium and long passes. In a 4-4-2 formation he can be a winger and if you play 4-3-3 you can give him enough freedom or move him to the left.
