After the ManCity-Bruges clash, national team coach Murat Yakin gets on a plane for around 14 hours. He wants to meet up with Lucas Blondel in Argentina. The Boca Juniors defender is a dual Argentinian-Swiss citizen and therefore a Nati candidate.
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- His name is Lucas Blondel, he is 28, a defender at Argentinian top club Boca Juniors and has both Argentinian and Swiss citizenship.
- At the end of 2023, Argentinian media were already speculating about a national team call-up for the talented Blondel, but shortly afterwards he tore his cruciate ligament.
- Blondel is now back on the pitch and also on Murat Yakin's radar. According to blue information, the national team coach will fly to see Blondel in Buenos Aires after the ManCity-Bruges clash.
Murat Yakin seems to have caught the travel bug. On Wednesday evening, he will watch the Champions League clash between ManCity and FC Brugge at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester (9pm, live on blue Sport). It is also a duel between his national team players Manuel Akanji and Ardon Jashari.
After the game, Yakin will meet up with Jashari (22), who recently extended his contract with Bruges until the summer of 2029, to discuss the location.
Dual national Blondel plays for Maradona club
The next day, Yakin does not fly back to Switzerland, but to Argentina. He wants to meet Lucas Blondel in Buenos Aires. The reason: the 28-year-old Boca Juniors defender has a Swiss passport as well as an Argentinian one and is a candidate for the national team. Yakin will also be welcomed by the Argentinian Football Association.
According to blue Sport, Blondel is no stranger to the SFA at least. He was already on the Swiss Football Association's radar at the end of 2023. However, he was not called up because the dual national tore his cruciate ligament in a league match against San Lorenzo in April 2024.
Blondel is now back on the pitch and also on Yakin's radar. On January 26, he made his comeback with a brief 9-minute appearance in the 0-0 draw against Argentinos Juniors.
He was born in Argentina and has never played anywhere else
But who is this professional footballer with a Swiss passport who has signed a long-term contract with the Maradona club until 2027?
The right-back has spent his entire career in Argentina to date and, according to Transfermarkt, has a market value of €2.2 million. He is regarded as a technically adept, combative full-back with offensive drive. Lucas is the son of former Vaud tennis player Jean-Yves Blondel and speaks perfect French as well as Spanish.
Should Yakin call Blondel up for the national team, the 28-year-old should not feel too much pressure. Those who are used to the loud and heated atmosphere at La Bombonera stadium will not be put off so easily.
