Scocco on Playing With Juanfer Quintero: “He Made Everything Easier”

Juan Fernando Quintero continues to draw admiration from former teammates. In an interview on Clank! with Juan Pablo Varsky, Ignacio Scocco looked back on his River Plate years and praised the Colombian’s impact on the team’s attack. The former striker, who lifted the 2018 Copa Libertadores alongside Quintero, even compared him to Argentine greats Maxi Rodríguez and Ariel Ortega.

“For a forward, having a player like that behind you makes everything easier,” Scocco said, describing how Quintero’s vision elevated his game. “It was like playing with Maxi or with Burrito. You just needed to make the slightest movement and he’d fire that sharp through ball that left you one-on-one with the keeper,” he added.

Scocco and Quintero shared the field for River between 2018 and 2020, appearing together in 34 matches. During that time they were part of Marcelo Gallardo’s side that defeated Boca Juniors in Madrid to win the legendary 2018 Copa Libertadores final. Their link on the pitch became one of the hallmarks of that era.

The striker left River in mid-2020 to return to Newell’s, where he eventually closed out his professional career. Quintero, meanwhile, has returned for a third spell with River, now carrying the responsibility of being one of the squad’s leaders.

Scocco’s reflections add to Quintero’s legacy as a rare talent in Argentine football, a playmaker who can change the course of a match with a single pass. For Scocco, sharing the attack with him was not only effective but also a joy to experience.