Young Defender Susano Gets Unexpected River Plate Call-Up for Copa Sudamericana

A 19-year-old defender who has yet to make his first-division debut, Ángel Yutiel Susano, has received an unexpected call-up to River Plate's squad for their Copa Sudamericana match against Independiente Santa Fe. The unexpected opportunity arose due to a series of injuries and roster constraints affecting the team.

Gonzalo Montiel suffered a left adductor strain, ruling him out of the game. Giovanni González, a recent acquisition, was not eligible for this stage of the tournament, and Fabricio Bustos is reportedly not being considered. This leaves coach Eduardo Coudet with limited options at right-back.

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I feel enormous pride in being able to wear the River shirt and I always defend it to the death when I step on the field.

Susano, known as 'Terry' or 'Sasu' among teammates, joined River Plate's youth academy at the age of eight. He has primarily trained as a right-sided center-back but has demonstrated versatility throughout his time in the club's system, playing in various defensive roles and even as a central midfielder in the reserve team.

He was part of the River Plate team that won the eighth division championship in 2022. According to Transfermarkt, Susano has played 14 reserve matches, scoring one goal. His progression was recently hampered by a pubis issue, and he had not yet been called up for the current league tournament before this emergency call.

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He gave me the confidence to play as a number 5.