Emiliano Ancheta: crying with his mother after winning the championship with Nacional and the day he thought about retiring

“Millions of things went through my mind, not to mention Juan Izquierdo's family and my teammates, but mainly my family, my children, my wife, my mom, who was at the stadium, and my dad, who was at home. It's hard to explain in just one word, it's something very beautiful to experience and I'm still celebrating it,” says Emiliano Ancheta happily as he recalls the title won with Nacional. With Gustavo Tejera's final whistle, a long-awaited family moment arrived. "We had a group hug with my mother and my wife, who has been through a lot with me and knows everything I've had to go through. What I said at that moment was: 'I did it. It was hard, but I did it, and from here on out, it's all forward, all to win.' My mom and I took pictures and cried a little.“ Part of Ancheta's emotion has to do with his journey and the silent effort he had to make before becoming a champion. ”I had to scrape the bottom of the barrel, and it was quite difficult for various reasons that are irrelevant today, but I had to be down there and fight for it. Thanks to my effort and dedication and the people around me who helped me, I was able to keep going, to put my mind to what I believed in, to what I love and enjoy doing.“ When he was playing for Cerro Largo, Ancheta thought about retiring from professional soccer for financial reasons. ”I was earning almost nothing and I had to be in Cerro Largo. It was very difficult for me, and when I had to come here for meniscus surgery, I made the decision to stay. I terminated my contract (in Cerro Largo), trained and trained, and the following year Albion opened its doors to me in the A league and I was able to continue; I am grateful to the club," he says. After the surgery, he made a quick recovery in less than a month, but he had to continue training on his own because there were two months left before the start of the season. “At that time, the support of my wife, my parents, and the agency I represent helped me not to give up what I know how to do and what I believe I am good at. Thinking about my children, at that moment I made the best decision, which was to continue,” he confesses. After the challenges he had to overcome, winning the Uruguayan championship title left him somewhat incredulous. “My parents seeing me become champion with Nacional is a great source of pride; I never imagined it. My mom was at the stadium, we took pictures and cried a little. Then I went to visit my old man, who is proud of me, and that fills me with joy.” When talking about his coach, Jadson Viera, the right back has nothing but praise, but he highlighted one specific virtue. “The peace and confidence he gave the team when he arrived. He gave us the tranquility to be able to work and become champions,” he said. Due to his own work methodology, as soon as Viera took over, he met with several players from the squad, and Ancheta revealed what they talked about. "He tried to tell me a little bit about what he wanted, what he thought I was lacking, and what I could really improve on, which I may not have been doing, but I did last year. I was lacking a little more in attack and I know I can give it, so we're going to try to do that next year,“ he said. Ancheta highlighted the role of several key players in the national team, such as Sebastián Coates, Luis Mejía, and Nicolás Lodeiro. ”The key players always tell you things that stay with you and make an impression. I've talked a lot with Nico Lodeiro and listened to him a lot so I can learn things that sometimes you don't have or don't realize. He's an experienced person and you have to take all the good things from them,“ he said. When asked specifically what advice the Bolso number 14 gave him, he replied: ”Maybe where it's best to receive the ball or where to pass it to the player and positioning on the field." When it comes to taking stock of his sporting year, the 26-year-old footballer has no doubts: “My year was good, with ups and downs as players sometimes have, and as a team we also had them, but it was a spectacular year where we won the Uruguayan Championship in my first year at the club.” Regarding his long-term goals, Ancheta commented: “I would love to play in Europe. It's something nice for a player, and we'll see how next year goes, God willing, to achieve our goals with Nacional and maybe get a transfer somewhere.” With a contract valid until 2027, he was excited about doing well in the Copa Libertadores in 2026.