‘In Paraguay the Premier League is the best’: Enciso, Almirón and the clash captivating a country

J ulio Enciso admits that he was too nervous to approach Miguel Almirón. It was June 2021, Enciso had received his first call-up to the Paraguay squad and he wanted to arrange a shirt swap with Almirón, the team’s craque.

“I actually asked the manager at the time, Eduardo Berizzo, if he could ask Miguel for the shirt,” Enciso says. “I was 17 and, as you can understand, I was a bit nervous. It was a very special moment for me – to play for the national team and to meet Miguel like that.”

Berizzo made it happen and so there they were, Enciso – the Libertad prodigy, who moved to Brighton last summer – and Almirón, the Newcastle favourite, handing over their shirts and smiling for a photograph. Enciso exchanged his Libertad ‘19’ jersey; Almirón his Newcastle ‘24’.

“Ah, yes, I remember … Julio asking the manager and all the rest,” Almirón says, after a little prompting; it was obviously not such a big deal to him. “What we knew from the beginning was that Julio was a talent, he had every possibility to go a long way. We saw that the national team shirt did not weigh him down and he is now where he should be – in one of the best leagues in the world.”

The international teammates will be in opposition at St James’ Park on Thursday night; the Premier League meeting between their clubs has plenty on the line in terms of European qualification. Newcastle are determined to secure their place in the Champions League group stage, having last played there in 2002-03, while Brighton are chasing European football for the first time. If a Champions League finish is likely to prove beyond them, the Europa League is firmly within their grasp.

Yet for all the buildup in England, there is just as much pride and excitement in Paraguay, the