By Sunday evening, Cristian Romero could be a two-time world champion. Argentina, for whom he has been a key figure for over half a decade now, are out to become only the third team in history to retain the World Cup successfully.
But there isn’t a single player in La Albiceleste’s international ranks with such a paradoxical reputation at club level. Romero has never let Argentina down, best demonstrated by the four trophies he’s won with them in the last five years.
What is perceived as a reckless style in the Premier League is encouraged when he dons the famous blue-and-white stripes of his home country. His dastardly shithousing reached new heights in Wednesday’s semi-final win over England, goading familiar faces and being part of the squad that held up an offensive banner referencing the Falkland Islands (or ‘Malvinas’, in verbatim).
The great Lionel Messi often heralds Romero as the best defender in the world, though that’s almost certainly because he’s blissfully ignorant to what goes on at Tottenham Hotspur.
Romero has reached the World Cup final with Argentina (Photo: Getty)Last summer, Romero was appointed Spurs club captain, succeeding the legendary Son Heung-min. It was a choice that made sense in the moment, with the centre-back stepping up to claim Player of the Match for his performance in the Europa League final against Manchester United while he was also part of Ange Postecoglou’s leadership group before the Australian was sacked.
It is not a decision that has aged particularly well. The appointment of Thomas Frank as head coach, coupled with the arrival of Vinai Venkatesham as CEO, was meant to signal a cultural reset. Romero taking on the captain’s armband went directly against that ethos.
Club sources claim that Spurs’ most recent superstars – Son, Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris – set the standards at Hotspur Way. They were self-aware, very receptive to the idea they were leaders as much as players and carried themselves accordingly. Everyone fell in line, and maybe more importantly, nobody wanted to let them down.
Romero, to this point, has shown no such qualities as captain. His punctuality has been a persistent issue, no more so than when it emerged he was late to training one day after Spurs were battered 4-1 by north London rivals Arsenal last November.
Instead of leading in the dressing room and on the pitch, most of Romero’s talking has come on social media, uploading a number of Instagram posts calling out the club’s board for their injury crises and lack of transfer market movement over the last couple of years.
Plenty of disgruntled Tottenham supporters backed Romero when he last took aim at the club hierarchy in January, but the sentiment has radically swung in the opposite direction since.
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Daniel Storey: The World Cup final’s half-time show is an abomination Daniel Storey: Lionel Messi changed my life – and my relationship with my MumIt was often speculated Romero cared more about playing for Argentina than Spurs. He has always dismissed this notion out of hand, but actions speak louder than words. When he fled England to train with boyhood side Belgrano on the week Tottenham’s Premier League relegation could have been confirmed, choosing to focus on rebuilding fitness for the World Cup after injury, he was effectively cyber-bullied by fans into returning to London.
It is now a fairly open secret that Tottenham simply want out of the Romero business. They would rather take the chance he pieces everything together elsewhere than be the fall guys for his shenanigans for another year. Should he indeed leave this summer, he will go down as one of Spurs’ worst-ever captains.
And despite everything, Romero stands on the brink of greatness. He is a god among Argentinians, yet viewed in the country where he plays his club football as a villain so cartoonish it now borders on parody. There have rarely been more Jekyll & Hyde players than Romero in history. That, in itself, is a fitting legacy.
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