Lanús won its second international tournament on Saturday, crowned 2025 Copa Sudamericana champions on the last kick of the ball. El Granate may not have as storied an international record as other Argentine teams, but it has come a long way since becoming an established First Division team in the 1990s. 

In the final at Asunción, it waved goodbye to a beloved player who was key in that process when Lautaro Acosta announced his retirement. Yet, while Acosta donned the team’s maroon jersey for the last time at the Copa Sudamericana final, the match was also the crowning moment for a new star: Rodrigo Castillo.

Born in Glew, in Buenos Aires’ southern outskirts, Acosta spent the vast majority of his professional career at the club, coming up through the youth ranks.

For the 37-year-old, Lanús is more than a club, as he admitted in a 2018 interview with Página12.

“I was only able to break through thanks to the club,” he said. “They paid my expenses and didn’t charge me membership fees. When my father lost his job, right before the 2001 crisis, the club hired him to do maintenance work and coach the kids teams. My family was going through some rough times and the........

© Buenos Aires Herald