One would expect San Lorenzo this week to be at the forefront of the tributes that have poured out for the late Pope Francis.
Jorge Bergoglio, as he was known in his native Argentina before being elected to the Holy See in 2013, was a lifelong Cuervo fan and member – indeed, in a curious coincidence, his membership number (88235) appeared to predict both the age (88) and the time (2:35am in Argentina) of his passing.
But instead of the papal passing, the club has found itself embroiled in matters of a far more earthly – and not very saintly at all – form.
The storm broke in Bajo Flores on Monday night, less than 24r hours after Francis passed away following a long battle with illness. A hidden camera sting prepared by Canal 9 purportedly showed Santo president Marcelo Moretti accepting a payment of US$25,000 in exchange for signing a young player to the team.
“I'll give you the 25k, but you'll sign the boy,” the mother of the boy appears to tell Moretti, who assents while stuffing the alleged initial payment, a wad of US$20,000 into his suit pocket. To add to the murky plot, alongside Moretti in an unknown capacity is attorney Francisco Sánchez Gamino – a man occupying a role in Javier Milei's government as the director of Studies for National Development.
Sánchez Gamino was removed from that post on Tuesday morning and Moretti has since requested a leave of absence from San Lorenzo “to allow the justice system to investigate with total comfort and transparency.”
The president denies allegations that the video, dating from March 2024, shows he took a bribe. He hit out at opposition figures within the club whom he claims are out to get him. “There are people who want to set me up, they have been blackmailing me since last year,” he fired off to TyC Sports. “The money you saw yesterday I put into the club treasury as soon as those people left.”
María José Scottini, the woman taped handing over the money, has also professed her innocence: “I made the donation to San Lorenzo. When my son started playing in the club I saw the state of the stadium and dressing rooms. A group of us who are San Lorenzo fans got together and we made the donation.”
What would the late pontiff make of it all?
Papal affinity
Bergoglio's affinity with San Lorenzo started as a child thanks to the influence of his father, Mario José, who played basketball for the Ciclón, and lasted his entire life.
While he lived in Buenos Aires he could often be found at San Lorenzo's Ciudad Deportiva complex overseeing services at the club's chapel (named for another great Cuervo-linked cleric, father Lorenzo Massa), which he continued to perform while acting as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires and right up to his historic move to the Vatican. In 2011 future World Cup winner Ángel Correa was one of the teenage stars in the club academy who received confirmation by his hand.
A delegation from San Lorenzo would later travel to the Vatican following their 2014 Copa Libertadores win to present Francis with the trophy and a team shirt. There, the pontiff admitted that he was no longer able to follow most games due to the time difference, but he had risen the day after the final at 4am to check in on his beloved team's fortunes against Nacional in the final.
One of the more curious duties of the Swiss Guard was to keep him apprised of San Lorenzo's results, possibly the first time in its 500-year history that a member of that venerable old force has sat through 90 minutes of a Sarmiento de Junín or Barracas Central game.
The current situation with Moretti and San Lorenzo will now rumble through the courts and media, with both sides likely gearing up to throw plenty of dirt at their adversary.
Whoever comes out on top, an unseemly mess is almost certain to be the ultimate outcome; and it is impossible to escape the irony that this storm broke right at the moment the Cuervos' most ardent fan, and a man of impeccable moral and ethical standing throughout his long years of service in Argentina and the Vatican, finally passed on.
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