Claudio Echeverri comments speak volumes as ‘angry’ Man City star vows to ‘take revenge’

Manchester City's Claudio Echeverri has vowed to get his "revenge" on Brazil after his Argentinian side were narrowly edged out at the South American U20 Championship.

The attacking midfielder, who was captain during the tournament, notched up an impressive tally of six goals and three assists in eight matches. Despite a coolly taken penalty in the last round against Brazil, it wasn't enough to secure first place for Argentina, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw.

Argentina had opened their tournament with a resounding 6-0 win over Brazil, where Echeverri made headlines with two goals. However, tensions flared when Brazilian defender Igor Serrote used Instagram live to poke fun at the Argentinians during the gold medal ceremony, repeatedly asking, "what happened?" This was while recording them and reveling in celebrations with his team-mates.

Qualifying for the World Cup might have been a silver lining for Argentina at the tournament, which doubled as the CONMEBOL qualifiers, but for Echeverri, there's an urge to achieve more. His fiery comments following the tournament will no doubt be music to City fans' ears, though, after he displayed a clear winning mentality.

"I'm happy because we qualified for the World Cup; we deserved to qualify and become champions," Echeverri said. "It's a huge disappointment, but now we must prepare for what's next and keep improving. We are still angry because they [Brazil] are provocateurs; they provoked us."

Post-match tensions boiled over as the two sets players exchanged heated words. Serrote reportedly then took the confrontation to the stands, flaunting Brazil's five senior team stars.

Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)

"It made us angry; we had beaten them 6-0 and didn't say anything to annoy them," Echeverri said. "Which makes you a bit angry, but we'll have our revenge at the World Cup."

City snapped up Echeverri from River Plate for £12.5million in January 2024, immediately loaning him back to the Buenos Aires giants for the rest of 2024. The 19-year-old, who was allowed by City to participate in the tournament, is now poised to join Pep Guardiola's squad following the competition in Venezuela.

Echeverri has expressed his eagerness to return to Manchester, though an ankle injury sustained in the draw with Brazil might see him sidelined briefly, postponing his much-anticipated first-team debut, reports the Manchester Evening News.

"I'm going to rest for a few days here in Buenos Aires and then head over to Manchester," he said. "It's a new challenge; I'm very happy and hope to give my best."

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