On the walls outside Club La Recova, it lists a selection of the various activities which take place inside the compound situated amongst the gridded maze that is Buenos Aires' suburbs.

There is patín artístico (artistic roller-skating), danzas folcloricas (folk dancing), and even the vague but exciting-sounding bombo y boleadoras (a form of local dance).

But one inconspicuous hobby alongside those aforementioned sports is, for this story, the most important: fútbol infantil. Fluency in Spanish is hardly a prerequisite for working out what it means.

Located on an unassuming side street, this local sports centre has one big claim to fame - it is the first football club of a World Champion. And not just any World Champion either - it is the first club of the Young Player of the Tournament no less.

Because Club La Recova is in fact where Enzo Fernandez first found his love for the game in which he now looks set to make history as one of the most expensive players of all time.

Set to arrive in London in January 2023 to so much fanfare, it is truly astonishing quite how far the midfielder has come in such a short space of time.

This is the story of the remarkable rise of Enzo Fernandez.

Hometown Origins

As with many players who find success early in their careers, it is easy to forget how young Fernandez really is.

He will become the first player born in the 21st century to make it onto the list of the top 10 most expensive transfers of all time, his birthday being 17 January 2001.

There is a sense that he was destined to become a footballer from the start, with his father purportedly naming him after Uruguayan footballing great Enzo Francescoli, a player who, ironically enough, played in a not too dissimilar position to that of the new Chelsea man.

Still, namesake aside, it quickly became clear that Fernandez had a talent for football, because at just five years of age he left Club La Recova to join Argentinian giants River Plate's youth academy.

<strong><a  data-cke-saved-href='https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2022/12/15/premier-league/1132169-liverpools-midfield-makeover-potential-incomings-and-outgoings-as-klopp-looks-to-revamp-the-engine-room.html' href='https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2022/12/15/premier-league/1132169-liverpools-midfield-makeover-potential-incomings-and-outgoings-as-klopp-looks-to-revamp-the-engine-room.html'>Enzo Fernandez</a></strong> in action for River Plate in 2019 (Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)
Enzo Fernandez in action for River Plate in 2019 (Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)

Simply playing for an esteemed club as a youngster is of course no guarantee of success - the proportion who drop out midway through their teenage years is extremely high - but once more a path of inevitability about Fernandez' career can be retrospectively traced when looking at graduates of the aforementioned academy.

Names such as Jose Manuel Moreno, Javier Mascherano, Radamel Falcao, Hernan Crespo and even the great Alfredo Di Stefano all graduated from El Semillero in their youth, with countless others no doubt still to follow.

After a series of false starts when looking to break through into the first team, Fernandez finally got his chance on 4 March 2020, appearing as a substitute in a 3-0 loss to L.D.U. Quito in the Copa Libertadores.

That his first team debut came less than three years ago is difficult to believe given his status now, with this only exacerbated by the fact it still then took him some time to prove his worth to River Plate.

A loan spell to Defensa y Justicia in the 2020/21 campaign proved to be a fruitful one, as the then-19-year-old established himself as a regular starter in manager Hernan Crespo's team, playing 32 times across the season.

Just a few days after his 20th birthday, Fernandez won his first senior trophy, the Copa Sudamericana - effectively the South American equivalent of the Europa League - with a 3-0 win in the final against Lanus.

His performances were noted with interest by his parent club, and in July 2021 he returned to River Plate, becoming a starter almost immediately under Marcelo Gallardo.

A few months later, the club won the Primera Division - their 37th title, more than any other club - with Fernandez' five goal contributions helping towards the achievement.

Fernandez won the 2021 Primera Division with River Plate (Photo by Rodrigo Valle/Getty Images)
Fernandez won the 2021 Primera Division with River Plate (Photo by Rodrigo Valle/Getty Images)

It was in 2022 when he really began to impress in Argentina however, as his attacking prowess began to improve, notching 10 goals in all competitions, as well as proving seven assists.

Such performances attracted the attention of those across the country, as he continued to improve week in week out in domestic competitions. Things were on the up for Fernandez - and the were about to get even better.

Europe comes calling

As with so many talented young players from South America, Benfica were the club who managed to secure Fernandez' signature, for what now seems like a bargain, paying €10 million, plus €8 million in add-ons.

It is important to point out that this transfer happened less than six months ago too - since last summer, Fernandez has been on an almost unparalleled rise, with that beginning back in August 2022.

Having made his debut at the start of the month, he scored in three successive games, earning him the award of Primeira Liga's midfielder of the month after his first 30 days in the country.

In that league his outstanding performances became a regular occurrence, and he ensured that heading into the break for the 2022 World Cup, Benfica were top of the pile.

Celebrating after scoring against FC Arouca (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)
Celebrating after scoring against FC Arouca (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)

The statistics speak for themselves when it comes to his time in Portugal: more passes than any other player, more touches than any other player, three out of the four awards for midfielder of the month.

Put simply, Fernandez was blowing away the competition, able to excel at almost all parts of the game, but particularly when playing as a deep midfielder, spraying passes left, right and centre, as well as intervening defensively too.

His performances also contributed to incredible success on the continent too, as Benfica topped a Champions League group which also included Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.

Still though, whilst he may have been a star performer in Portugal, his reputation on the global stage was yet to be created - after all, he only made his international debut in September 2022, and even then it was only as a substitute.

How then, did Enzo Fernandez go from a promising starlet in the Primeira Liga in mid-November, to one of the most talked-about young talents on the planet.

The answer is a mixture of fortune, skill, and Lionel Messi.

World Cup Wonders

When Lionel Scaloni named Enzo Fernandez as part of his 26-man squad for the World Cup, few people would have even batted an eyelid - he was not expected to feature much for La Albiceleste.

It seemed he would be limited to substitute appearances, with the first two group stage games seeing him arrive onto the pitch around the hour mark, in two games in which Argentina were struggling.

The first - that loss to Saudi Arabia - was one in which Fernandez had little impact, but the second saw a twist of fate that would go on to have a monumental effect on his career.

Fernandez became Argentina's second youngest goalscorer at a <strong><a  data-cke-saved-href='https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2023/01/02/premier-league/1133323-manchester-united-vs-bournemouth-premier-league-preview-gameweek-19-2023.html' href='https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2023/01/02/premier-league/1133323-manchester-united-vs-bournemouth-premier-league-preview-gameweek-19-2023.html'>World Cup,</a></strong> behind only <strong><a  data-cke-saved-href='https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2021/09/15/chelsea-fc/1085981-can-chelsea-retain-their-champions-league-crown.html' href='https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2021/09/15/chelsea-fc/1085981-can-chelsea-retain-their-champions-league-crown.html'>Lionel Messi</a></strong> (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Fernandez became Argentina's second youngest goalscorer at a World Cup, behind only Lionel Messi (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Lionel Messi had already put his side 1-0 up, but they were holding on to a slender lead as the game neared its end, and were searching for a second goal that would wrap things up.

So when Messi laid the ball off to Fernandez, the youngster took matters into his own hands and unleashed a stunning strike into the top corner, catapulting his name into the headlines out of almost nowhere.

There is an argument to be made that that goal could well have been the difference between Argentina winning their third World Cup, or crashing out in the group stages.

After all, had they conceded a late equaliser, they would have been in deep trouble heading into their final game against Poland - instead, Fernandez became Argentina's second youngster player to score at the World Cup, and gave them a confidence boost which would continue throughout the tournament.

Following that wonder goal, Scaloni had little choice but to start the youngster in the next game, as Argentina beat Poland 2-0, with Fernandez going from strength to strength in each match that followed.

There was the round of 16 victory over Australia, when he bossed the midfield, the quarter final meeting with the Netherlands, where he played the full 120 minutes of extra time and, though he missed a penalty in the shootout, played a pivotal role in ensuring Argentina stood firm against a wave of Oranje attacks in the addition half an hour.

Next came the comprehensive semi-final triumph over Croatia, where he had more touches and made more tackles than anyone else on his team, and all of a sudden the eyes of the world were fixed on the young man from Buenos Aires.

And of course, then there was the final. At the age of just 21, Fernandez produced an unbelievable performance against the World Champions, France, as Argentina lifted the famous trophy in Qatar.

On that glorious night, he made more passes, more tackles and had more touches than any other player in the entire game - of which over half he had a yellow card hanging over his head too.

That performance, combined with the those in previous rounds meant he won the award for Young Player of the Tournament, following in the footsteps of the likes of Thomas Muller, Paul Pogba, and a certain Kylian Mbappe too.

<strong><a  data-cke-saved-href='https://www.vavel.com/en/international-football/2022/12/03/1131285-argentina-vs-australia-world-cup-round-of-16-preview-2022.html' href='https://www.vavel.com/en/international-football/2022/12/03/1131285-argentina-vs-australia-world-cup-round-of-16-preview-2022.html'>Enzo Fernandez</a></strong> with his award for Young Player of the Tournament (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Enzo Fernandez with his award for Young Player of the Tournament (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Enzo Fernandez had gone from being a player with an outside chance of appearing as a substitute to a player virtually every single top team wanted to sign, and he had done it in less than a month.

Looking to the future

The rest of Fernandez' story is mostly made up of celebrations back home, and various reports about the state of his move from Portugal to England, which of course is now complete.

There is no denying that the transfer fee - reportedly well over €100 million in all - is a daunting one, and does come loaded with pressure to perform in a struggling Chelsea side.

Only time will tell whether the huge price tag will be a burden too strong to carry, or whether the pressures of being a marquee signing midway through a season will result in a dip in performances.

But it is clear, even if it has only emerged over the past few months, that Enzo Fernandez is an extraordinarily talented footballer and has the potential to become one of the greats with so many years of his career ahead of him.

And, if nothing else, at least he might be able to explain what bombo y boleadoras is.

Enzo Fernandez lifts the World Cup trophy (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Enzo Fernandez lifts the World Cup trophy (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)