Atlético Grau’s new reinforcements shone with three goals on his debut in Peruvian football and join Barracas Central after a good period in Argentina’s first division.
sporty touch seems to have thrived again with his foreign reinforcements for another season in League 1. Goalscorer Rodrigo Salinas, his ’10’ Joel López Pissano, central defender Daniel Franco and even Fernando Márquez – he came into the 2022 Clausura – all met the expectations of the Piura fan. They are all Argentines with a past in their country’s first division, and the formula was reapplied with the signing Black flagthe striker who debuted in Peru with three goals.
Neri Bandiera reached League 1 after enjoying one of the best seasons of his career at Barracas Central, where he scored the club’s first First Division goal in its entire history. However, he could not always play in the highest category of Argentine football and he came from below to migrate abroad, start in the professional league and face Rosario Central, the team of his love.
Who is Neri Bandiera?
Neri Bandiera is a 33-year-old Argentine footballer who was born on July 3, 1989 in Rosario. He took his first steps on the way to becoming a professional at Tiro Federal, as he himself revealed in an interview with Olé. According to his own statements, he was released from Bernardo Cuesta’s former team at the age of 20, when there was an opportunity to leave the sport to study.
However, Bandiera remained firm in his desire to continue playing football and spent many years fighting for his country’s rise in teams such as Sarmiento de Resistencia and Juventud Unida de Gualeguaychú. As an anecdote, he told that he came up to three times to prove himself in Rosario Central, but that he never managed to stay.
Neri Bandiera is the fifth Argentine footballer for Atlético Grau this season. Photo: Atlético Gray
Neri Bandiera and his time in the Argentine Premier League
The Argentine forward made his debut with Aldosivi in the 2016 First Division Championship, which was a short transition tournament for the new European calendar format. Bandiera scored his first goal in the draw against Newell’s on 3 April 2016. He stayed with the team until mid-2017 when he joined Belgrano.
At the latter he played very little and in 2018 had the opportunity to switch to Chilean football. Injuries made it very difficult and it wasn’t until 2022 that he returned to his best level with Barracas Central. Neri Bandiera was the club’s top scorer with nine goals (4 in LaLiga and 5 in the League Cup) and enjoyed a continuity he hadn’t had since his Aldosivi days. That year he scored the first hat-trick of his career with Atlético Grau.
Neri Bandiera played his first season in Argentina’s first division with Aldosivi in 2016. Photo: Aldosivi