What was an open secret is now official. National Athletic confirmed the return of Edwin Cardona to the institution after several days of rumors and speculation. The midfielder, who had his last step through America of Cali, He will have his third cycle defending the colors of the Antioquia team, a club of which he is a confessed fan and to which he always dreamed of returning.
Since I was in Avellaneda Racinghad some flirtations with returning to Nacional, however, he was discarded at that time by the institution and ended up reaching the Cali America. He arrived at the Valle del Cauca club in mid-2023, so he was able to compete in two Colombian League championships; one under the command of Lucas González and another, the most recent, with the Venezuelan César Farías. With the scarlets, He played 37 games, scored 6 goals and gave 5 assists.
This is how Cardona was presented
The protagonist of the video with which the club welcomed Cardona was precisely her sister, Geraldine Cardona, who is part of the women’s team. In the clip, the 29-year-old soccer player is seen riding a bicycle through Medellín neighborhoods until she reaches a field, where a small Nacional fan questions her: “If it’s true that he’s coming back?”, to which Geraldine replies: “Let him tell you himself.”
Cardona’s first words after being introduced
After the club released the presentation video on social networks, the 31-year-old player was at a press conference, where he told the media his joy at being back. “to the club where he was born.”
“Grateful to God, to the president, to the people who made the effort to bring me to the club where I was born. It’s a dream that I’m going to fulfill again, because my son, my family, they are going to see me dressed in green again, the team of which I am a fan. They are very great feelings and with great expectations of seeing people at the Atanasio and feeling this purslane passion.”
How did Cardona do in Nacional?
The footballer is a youth player of the institution. He debuted in 2009 and remained in the team until the end of 2011, so he was part of the squad that became champion in the Apertura that year. He then went to Santa Fe and Junior, and in 2014 he returned to Nacional to return to win the League title: the Apertura.
Now, he returns to the team as one of the leaders of the new project that the institution will begin with directives and a technical body headed by the Uruguayan Pablo Repetto, with which they will compete again for titles after the unfortunate first half of 2024 that they experienced. Cardona is the first signing confirmed by the Purslanes ahead of the second championship of the year, in which several players will no longer be there.
