Santiago Sosa heads to Vasco da Gama with two international titles and his eyes on the Argentina national team

There were some strange days in Avellaneda. Santiago Sosa kept training, but he wasn't playing. Everyone knew why: Vasco da Gama had already reached out to Racing Club to sign him, and until the deal was finalized, the midfielder was left out of the coach's plans. Now that the transfer is confirmed, the player himself sat down to talk about how he experienced that limbo.

"The last few days were a bit strange with everything that was going on, whether I was leaving or not. A lot of emotions all at once," Sosa said in an interview with ESPN Fans. He went straight to what bothered him most: not being able to close out his time there on the field. "Unfortunately I couldn't say goodbye by playing, which is what I wanted, but that's behind me now. The affection they showed me was something beautiful," added Racing's former captain.

It's no small thing what Sosa leaves behind at Racing: two international titles in a little over two years, the 2024 Copa Sudamericana and the 2025 Recopa Sudamericana. Numbers that carry real weight in the bag he's taking to Brazil.

It was two and a half years that felt like ten. I lived through so many beautiful things, and some not so nice ones too, but I'll hold on to the good ones. This whole thing with my move to Vasco fills me with nostalgia. I'm happy to take this big step for my career.Santiago Sosa

The national team, the pending goal

Raised in River Plate's youth academy, Sosa already knows what it's like to represent Argentina: he was part of the Under 20 squad that played in the 2019 World Cup in Poland. But that's not the goal here. What he's chasing is something else, something much bigger: a spot on the senior national team currently coached by Lionel Scaloni.

Ambitious? Maybe. But he's crystal clear about it and doesn't hide how tough the road will be. "It's a dream I still hold onto, and I feel like the timing is right. A new period is starting now, a transition. Obviously, with these incredible players around, it's very hard to make that team, but it's a dream I still have to fulfill and I'd love to make it happen," the midfielder explained.

He also knows that dream won't come just from talking about it. It takes work. "I'm going to keep training harder. It's something I want with all my heart, and even though it's difficult, I have no doubt that if I put in the effort, I'll get there," Sosa said, already thinking about Brazil but with his eyes fixed on the light blue and white jersey.

So, caught between the nostalgia of leaving Avellaneda and the excitement of a new challenge, Santiago Sosa begins a different chapter in his career, with Vasco da Gama as his next stop and the Argentina national team as his medium term horizon.