Nacho Piatti was back in training with the squad this week, which means that he could face a former teammate this Saturday at 1pm at Stade Saputo against Atlanta United (TICKETS – TVA Sports, CTV, 98,5FM & TSN Radio 690).
Héctor Villalba, who scored a brace at Toronto FC last weekend, is a youth product of Argentinean club San Lorenzo, which he joined when he was a boy. Villalba climbed the ranks of El Ciclón, making his debut with the first team two days after Nacho signed with the club.
Nacho and ‘Tito’ Villalba started playing alongside each other on a regular basis in February 2013. Given their mutual achievements – a league title in 2013 and a 2014 Copa Libertadores triumph –, Piatti was delighted to see Villalba join MLS for Atlanta United’s inaugural season.
“I spoke with Héctor [on Wednesday] night,” Piatti said after training on Thursday. “I haven’t seen him in a long time. I’m glad that he’s here in MLS now. He’s a really good player, and we have to be ready to face him.
“He’s a really, really quick player that you have to deal with in a cautious way,” Piatti added. “[Miguel] Almirón and him are fast, but we prepared well this week.”
All Nacho has to do now is hope that he’ll see Villalba on the Stade Saputo field.
“This will be a great game,” Piatti said. “We have to win at home. I’m glad to be back with the squad, and I hope I get to play on Saturday.”
