Most footballers dream of playing for great teams, winning important titles, participating in a cup representing their country, among other things. Unfortunately, that was not the way of the former San Lorenzo, Matias Javier Ortiz.
The former player of theCyclone”, who went through several local and international soccer clubs, retired at 30; He was a chef, barbecue griller, DJ and stand-up comedian, until he became the manager of a store that sells supplies for different sports.
What was Matías Javier Ortíz’s football career like?
Although the career that you are going to read about below was not stunning or dreamed of by any player, there is something that is undeniable: it started in a big way and in a big way. Matías Javier Ortiz debuted in the first team of the Boedo team on November 20, 1998 in a match against Belgrano de Córdoba. El Ciclón, at that time directed by the renowned coach Alfio “Coco” Basile, was competing in the Mercosur Cup, so in the local tournament they had to make a mix between starters and substitutes. In that context, the midfielder who had come through all the youth ranks at the club, had the opportunity to debut in one of the big 5 of Argentine football.
One of the most important milestones in his career was when he traveled with the San Lorenzo sub 20 to compete in a tournament in the United States, a competition that “Cuervo” would later end up winning. On that campus there were Sebastian Saja, Augustine Orionand one such Leandro “Pipi” Romagnoli.
By 1999, Oscar Ruggeri He took over the technical direction of San Lorenzo and told Ortiz that he would not be taken into account. That is why the former player went on loan to promotion, more precisely to Almagro. In the “Tricolor” he could not settle and returned to the Boedo club, where they left him free of action after not being considered by the coach.
After that, Ortiz traveled to try his luck at the United States MLS. Thanks to a contact made by Diego “Chiche” Soñorahad a test in LA Galaxy and in tampawhere he ended up playing and sharing a squad with himself Carlos “Pibe” Valderrama in a friendly match.
Although his time in the United States was very short (6 months), the North American country left Ortiz with a very particular experience, after being arrested for consumption of yerba mate. The American police mistook that the herb the midfielder used to drink mate was cannabis, and that is why he was imprisoned for four hours. His difficulties with the language did not help at the time and what happened was a great reason to reconsider returning to Argentina.
Ortiz could not settle in the northern country, therefore, when an offer was opened in Armenian, an Argentine promotion club, did not hesitate to grab her. There, the former midfielder played for 2 and a half years until he had the chance to play for Italian promotion clubs, where he spent six years.
Once in Italy, Javier Ortiz played for the Belluno, Rosarnese and Montereale. According to what the former San Lorenzo said in a note for Infobae, the fact of playing for those teams was not for an economic issue, but purely and exclusively for his passion for football. Under this conviction, in Belluno he had to be a chef so that the club would allow him to stay: “In Belluno, when I was injured, I couldn’t play and they wanted to terminate my contract, but I didn’t want to leave. Immediately afterwards, they asked me to live in my big apartment with two Argentinians and a Nigerian who were teammates and had been released from their pension. At the same time, they asked me to take care of them. I was the housekeeper, I went shopping for them, I cooked for them, I took care of them. eat and I was their driver, I took them to training and brought them back.”
Already in 2008, and at the age of 30, he returned to the country again. After a test in Platense, Matías Javier Ortiz decided to temporarily distance himself from football as he felt that the sport brought him more frustrations than joys.
What happened to the life of Matías Javier Ortíz after he retired from football?
After “being angry with football” and retiring at an early age, Javier Ortiz faced the complicated stage that several players reach: what to do after retirement. The truth is that the former midfielder’s path veered in different directions.
In principle, the one who knew how to wear the Ciclón shirt worked in a car insurance company. Then, a friend took him to be a salamander seller, until he set up his own culinary business; a grill Unfortunately, the former midfielder did not do well in his venture and he ended up going bankrupt in 2014.
From one day to the next, the former player decided to dedicate himself more to the world of the arts; He worked as a DJ in a bar in Palermo, studied theater and started doing stand-up monologues on social media until the pandemic.
At that time, Ortiz had separated from his partner, he was exhausted and in the worst possible state of mind and body. His great passion, from which he was very far away, was what got him out of the bad moment.
Matías Javier Ortiz in the San Lorenzo Senior
At the age of 40 he returned to the world of football and in different sectors: he took the coaching course, he partnered with a friend to manage a business that sells sporting goods, he played some games in the Senior of San Lorenzo and trains amateur players. In addition, currently she enjoys watching her children play and, from time to time, she plays games to kill her addiction.
Matías Javier Ortiz is a moving story of overcoming. Despite a large number of falls that he had throughout his personal career as a soccer player, he always looked for a way to get up, reinvent himself and continue.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
