A hell of a pasture

The infernales, or Infernal Division, was a gaucho army from the province of Salta commanded by Martín Miguel de Güemes.

Maximiliano Padilla found out that Boca Jrs. He was going to do a test in Salta capital and decided to come from his town to try his luck. He carried dreams, and also the passion and sacrifice with which he had been preparing for that moment. It is the path taken by so many kids in our country, who carry a bag that weighs much less than their dreams.

Maxi mixed in with the tangle of teenagers who, every year, try to make history. And he tried to stand out among them. He achieved it halfway, he didn't play badly, but they didn't call him for the next phase. Frustration and disappointment were condensed in the recruiter's phrase: “Thank you for coming to the test… To the kids who are not left, I tell you that football does not begin or end in Boca. You have to keep trying, training and testing…” Blah blah blah. This speech is repeated, over and over again, in every test of every moderately important club in our country. A way to make up for the discard, the “I kept participating”, the “so much money, so much effort”.

In 1805 Güemes arrived in Buenos Aires, where he participated in great exploits in the English invasions. The shameless, for example, was crucial in the capture of a British ship by attacking it by surprise with a few other soldiers...

Not at all. Discarded, less. Because, if Padilla had something, it was perseverance. Furthermore, there were those who knew how to see it: Apolo Robles, a recruiter from northern Argentina for whom his audacity and his warrior soul did not go unnoticed. Therefore, a few months after that failed test, Maxi returned to Capital Federal, along with many other players, to try out for other clubs.

But “other clubs” are not Boca and the xeneize thorn stuck in his warrior soul continued to sting. Perseverance, audacity... Maxi decided to go to Boca and say that he had passed the filter in Salta: that he was ready for the next test. The lie stuck: “We don't have you listed,” responded the selective coordinators, “but you come from far away… We're going to see you anyway.”

Maxi must be one of the only cases of self-scouting in the world. He tried it, and it turned out well. Second chance in Boca… for a thirteen-year-old boy from Salta, it is no small feat. The warrior knew how to take advantage of it. Or perhaps something bigger and older was driving it; something gestated in his beautiful and untamed land, something in his infernal blood. The truth is that the left-handed man found a place in the test and, later (more journey, more sacrifice), he stepped on the green grass again, this time, with the blue and gold against his chest. Padilla the warrior, the brazen one, positioned himself as one of the best 3 in the country and was part of the U-17, with players like Paredes and Ocampo, among others.

After the second defense against the English invasion, in 1807, the death of his father and the beginning of his respiratory problems made him return to Salta; The humidity of Buenos Aires made it unpleasant…

Year 2014. Maxi was in his best professional moment and playing in reserve. He was twenty years old and had a huge range of possibilities, all glorious. But life is that which makes a mess of dreams and throws them into the bin, that which destroys your knee with a cyst, that which sends you to the operating room twice, and deal with your hormonal changes, your incessant pain, as best you can, your overweight. End of contract, back home. And the world that fell apart.

At the beginning of the Gaucha War in Northwest Argentina, San Martín puts him in charge of the army. It can be said that Güemes is the inventor of “guerilla warfare.” Knowing the terrain and the details of the climate, he fought and emerged triumphant against the royalist army, which was unable to defeat the infernals and decided to retreat to Upper Peru...

The path was taken again, now in reverse. Rosario de la Frontera (his hometown, and also that of Carmen Puch, Güemes' wife) received him with his familiar air, fresh and loved. They were times of temporary jobs, of playing soccer in the pasture with friends, of trying to accept that new life with that new body. Would his 250 pounds weigh more on her or what could have been but wasn't?

Wasn't it? Be careful, because life always has a “maybe”. And he gave it to Maxi seven years later. The only possibility to return to professional football appeared with Beto Gallo, a crazy manager, but it was a possibility at last. Crazy, because he trusted, because he saw the invisible, the infernal. Crazy, because he took this former player out of shape and already far from the market to put him in Central Norte. Crazy, because he fought with the entire board so that the chubby boy could stay and be able to play in the Federal A. A couple of actions were enough for the warrior to earn his place on that team and a few months of training positioned him as one of the figures of the tournament . Yes it was: his dream was real again.

Already governor of Salta and almost without support from the national government, so He suffered all the attacks of realism from the north. However, at the same time, he lost in the civil war and, from the south, the people of Tucuman and a group of the upper class of Salta took away his position of power...

The Maxi with infernal, untamed blood, like that of his ancestors, took up the race again. For his life, he landed a fierce kick in the middle of the face, and defended his goal as best he knew how. He retraced steps, he followed new ones, and managed to play in the Primera Nacional: Estudiantes de Río Cuarto was his first stop. Once again he had to fight her, that's how repetitive this tenacious life can be.

But, be careful, life, don't get carried away, remember who you are trying to screw.

A gunshot wound and hemophilia go hand in hand; Güemes fights for several days, but the infection increases. Despite having won a thousand battles, he loses this one, the one that takes his life...

January 21, 2021: Río Cuarto Students vs. Platense. The second final for promotion to the first division was, again, on penalties. In the first, against Sarmiento de Junín, he had not had the chance to kick. This time, he gave himself the chance. He put on the infernal red poncho, took the saber and declared: “I go first.” Maxi converted his penalty, as did Ortigoza, another expert in the field. But the squid archer, hero among heroes, took away Estudiantes' chance of promotion. Despite having won a thousand battles, he lost this one.

In 2016, the homelands of the northern hero are recognized. Since then, June 17, National Latin American Freedom Day, has been a national holiday, in commemoration of his death and in recognition of his actions...

They say warriors never rest, and maybe it's true. Perhaps, somewhere, the infernal hosts are still on their horses, fighting for this homeland of ours. Many of us want to believe it. Here, in these earthly parts, like so many, Maxi fights his own battle, leading his small army of three. He continues to face injuries, failures and financial obstacles. He continues to travel paths by dint of moves and changes. And he kicked life in the face, because he did not negotiate with her his surrender and sacrifice. And because the dream of playing big football is still intact. After good campaigns in Río Cuarto, the road took him to Mendoza. Today he is still there, untamed blood of beautiful land watering the green field of Gimnasia.

Güemes fought for his country from the age of 14.

Padilla has been fighting for his country since he was 14.

Correction and editing M. Fernanda Rey

Hector Bracamonte