Another anniversary of the Madrid final was celebrated. It’s been six years and beyond the current situation, the memory will be eternal. And while he seeks to recover from a 2024 year in football, River already projects 2025. To Marcelo Gallardoshocked by the death of his father, Máximo, it is vital to change the calendar number. And after the last game of the year, which will be on Sunday against Racing in Avellaneda and after the holidays, he will put all his energy into trying to build a new story that identifies the people of River Plate.
The bases of the reconstruction of the Doll They will be sitting on their ideals of prominence in the game and an idea that generates a sense of belonging. For this, will rely on the heroes of Madrid that remain on the squad, that is Franco Armani, Milton Casco, Nacho Fernandez y Gonzalo Martinez. They could be added Enzo Perez y Juan Fernando Quintero if their returns materialize in January.
They are, after all, the ones who best understand Gallardo’s message.. He showed it Pity Martínez with his words after his great performance in the defeat of Rosario Central. “We haven’t been having good games. We have not been representing the shirt or the coach, so we owed ourselves this victory,” the man from Mendoza expressed with brutal sincerity.
And he added: “It is a reality. We don’t have to be blind to things we know. We didn’t do a good job in important games and it’s a problem that the group also has. Because we know the potential we have and we cannot carry it out. “It’s a thorn in our side to do things much better.”
Although it did not come from the club, Martínez understands perfectly what River fans think. His words and actions demonstrate it. And when he says “the best thing is to leave everything and make people feel identified,” he is clearly also conveying the message intended by Gallardo, whom he knows as if he were a family member. In fact, for him Doll He is one of his football “sons”.
He Pity In 2025 he will be one of the drivers of that line that the technician intends to reinstate in the group. Because – that’s how he understands it Doll and his coaching staff – to once again generate good feelings on the playing field, we must first revitalize the locker room, a sacred place for footballers. In that sense, it also has Armani, Casco and Nacho Fernández. And it points to the returns of Enzo Pérez and Juanfer Quintero.
The mission for the old guard
From football, the only owner is Armani. Because the rest is not there for 90 minutes. But if each of them fulfills their role, their contributions can also be valuable on the field even if they play from the bench.
What happened with Pity on Sunday against Rosario Central is a clear example. The left-handed player is not able to play more than half an hour at the moment, given that he is coming off three consecutive knee injuries. But those 30 minutes were enough for him to stand outto the point that he was the figure of the field since he gave two assists and scored a penalty goal. He had also had good appearances in other previous games.
And as for the other heroes of Madrid, Armani is still valid in goal; Casco is there to replace the left back or, occasionally, the right back when necessary; Nacho is the one who is currently lowest but they want to recover him to have his flashes and his good punch. If Enzo Pérez returns, he will be essential to support the central midfielders and be in hot games and Juanfer will contribute his talent.
Obviously, not only will Gallardo and will look for reinforcements that give hierarchy to the squad and bring freshness to the playing field. He also wants to look forward because, as he already said, for him, the final at the Bernabéu, although it will be “eternal”, is already behind him and he needs to build “a new history”. But for this, the Muñeco believes that the locker room is very important and to return to being a “family” as he intends, the foundations can be rebuilt with the heroes of Madrid.