From moss to the Europa League: Martin Ramiro Lagos' strange story

In Salurn, Moos and Naturns you can remember Martin Ramiro Lago all too well. Lively, nimble, fine feet and, last but not least, extremely dangerous in front of the hut, he not only devoured one or two opponents, but also delighted the fans in the stands every now and then. Today the Argentine looks back fondly on this experience, even though it was a few years ago. Because he wanted Italian citizenship (Lago's great-grandfather comes from Rovigo), he moved to South Tyrol in 2010, where he initially hunted for goals for Salurn. After his first year in the league, he finally blossomed at Moos (including 15 state league goals in the 2012/13 season) and Naturns (10 league goals in the 2013/14 season). “Looking back, I can say that these were very nice experiences. “I especially remember the test games against teams like Sassuolo, Watford and Palermo,” explains the offensive player.

An unusual change Thanks to his strong performances, Lago, who grew up in his native Argentina with the first division club Newell's Old Boys and also played in the third and fourth divisions, became the focus of various clubs. Among others, the club Tre Fiori from San Marino's first league became aware of the nimble striker, and the now 29-year-old finally accepted their offer. A logical step, as Lago explains: “In the first league in San Marino there was the possibility of playing internationally, i.e. the Champions or Europa League. And that was also a goal with which I left my native Argentina behind and moved to Europe. I wanted to play as high as possible.”

In fact, he quickly became a feared and accurate attacker in San Marino's first league, which is strictly speaking still an amateur league. During his stints at Tre Fiori, Marignanese and Pennarossa, he quickly made a name for himself thanks to his consistent strike rates (usually around ten goals per season). At the start of this year's season, Lago signed with SS Folgore/Falciano, fulfilling a dream. A few weeks ago, the offensive player played with his new club in the first round of the Europa League qualification against the Maltese champions FC Valletta. The dream of the second round had to be quickly buried after the 0-2 and 0-1 defeats - “but it was still an unforgettable experience,” enthuses Lago, who is a full-time footballer during the season and in the breaks works in an ice cream factory.

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From moss to the Europa League: Martin Ramiro Lagos' strange story

Growing up in Argentina and maturing as a footballer in South Tyrol, Martin Ramiro Lago has now landed in San Marino, where he was recently able to breathe in a touch of international flair. The extraordinary story of the “Gaucho”.

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