He waited 18 years to return to Argentina, surfed a “sacatecnico” victory and sent the fans who insulted him home

After a turbulent, distressing 2023, the new leadership of Velez managed options for 2024. The priority was to put together a competitive team to add points to improve in the relegation average table and not suffer in the annual one. Like every change of season, they needed to sell in order to buy and guarantee hierarchy reinforcements.

Fabian Berlanga He won the presidential elections on November 13 and took office on the 22nd. Three days later, andThe team was saved from relegation after beating 3-1 Colón for the last date of the League Cup. The technician was Sebastian Mendez and the first option was to negotiate continuity. However, after some preliminary talks, the Gallego He resigned on December 9. I was no longer Christian Bassedas as sports director and in his place, only on December 14, he was appointed Ricardo Alvarezformer club midfielder, who had announced his retirement after the pandemic, in November 2021, at 33 years old.

The dance of names began from the moment Méndez’s resignation became known. On December 12, at a press conference, Berlanga confirmed the interest in Gabriel Milito and said that the talks had not yet started. Furthermore, he confessed that they had had an offer of Ariel Holanwho had not spoken with Fernando Gago and that he hadother names mentioned, but I prefer to reserve them so as not to hinder the negotiations“

Four days later, on December 16, the decision of Milito, who was also wanted for Córdoba Workshops. The former Independiente defender rejected both proposals. On the 19th, Berlanga sent a message to Florencio Varela. “If Vaccari is listening, give me a sign”he said, and clarified that he liked the coach but since he had a job (Defense and Justice) he was not going to call him.

During all those days, the name of Gustavo Quinteros never soundedwho until December 10 was negotiating with Racing, which finally leaned towards Gustavo Costas. So, When did Vélez start thinking about the coach who took him out of the hole and took him to the League Cup final?

Together with Ricky Alvarez he was appointed Sebastian Piat as football director. Piat had already worked at the club as director of Scouting between January 2005 and December 2012, then he returned as director of the methodology department in January 2017 and from 2018 to 2021 he was general coordinator of amateur football. The two years that he was not in Vélez -2015 / 16-, he was director of Scouting and scouting of Córdoba Workshops. There she worked with Walter Lemmaone of Quinteros’ field assistants, the one in charge of the offensive part, while the other is Leandro Desábatoformer Estudiantes and cousin of the DT, who works with the defense.

The link Lemma-Pait-Alvarez was key to the arrival of Quinteros, with a great career abroad but with little experience in the local environment. In fact, he had only directed San Martín de San Juan in 2006 in the B Nacional. The recent successes in Chile, two titles with Universidad Católica and four with Colo Colo, convinced the rest of the leadership.

On December 23, the negotiation was closed and on January 3 of this year it was officially presented. “I am very happy to join a world champion and a great player from Argentina,” he said, adding: “Returning to Argentine football excites me very much. I feel a lot of motivation. Vélez is a great club to work for and form a team with the ability to compete”who as a player was a central marker and was not only champion with San Lorenzo in 1995, but also played in a World Cup (United States 1994) and three Copa América for Bolivia.

“His career speaks for itself. She has a lot of experience and where she went she achieved good results and that is important. Since we started chatting we noticed a coherence between her personal objectives and those of the institution. “We are convinced that Gustavo is the ideal coach for this situation in Vélez.”said Ricky Alvarez that day.

“A goalkeeper, a central marker and a striker”, were the priorities of the new technical leadership. The new leadership had to face payments of seven million dollars between January and February. A debt that was partially refinanced but that limited the repo market and forced the two jewels to be disposed of: Gianluca Prestiannisold to Benfica of Portugal for 8 million euros, and Santiago Castro, to Bologna of Italy for 12 million euros. In the distribution of tasks, economic sanitation is in charge of Augusto Costathe vice president, who is also Minister of Production, Science and Technological Innovation of the province of Buenos Aires.

Finally there were seven additions, goalkeepers Tomás Marchiori and Sebastián Sosa, defenders Emanuel Mammana and Braian Cufré, and forwards Rodrigo Piñero, Matías Pellegrini and Thiago Vecino; and three returns, midfielder Agustín Bouzat and forwards Emanuel Centurión and Facundo Pimienta. The initial investment did not reach a million dollars.

After the summer friendlies, with irregular performances, The path in the League Cup was not ideal for Quinteros: 1-1 with Barracas Central, 0-1 with Independiente and 0-5 with River in the Monumental. A result brings out technicians. As Clarín was able to find out, after the win, there were mid-level leaders who asked for the coach’s head. In the main line he deprived sanity, since he had barely been in office for three official games.

Quinteros’ experienceborn 59 years ago in Cafferatta, Santa Fe, acted immediately after the fall with River. “It is a result that makes me ashamed as a coach”shot and sent a direct message to the players: “We must change the attitude, it is a team that, when faced with the first adversity, falls a lot emotionally, it is difficult for them to reverse adverse situations, it is an emotional issue that must be resolved.” There he brought out his journey. In addition to his successes in Chilean soccer, he was a coach in Bolivia and Ecuador – he reached the quarterfinals of the Copa América Centenario – and had brief stints in soccer in Saudi Arabia (Al Nassr) and the United Arab Emirates (Al Wasl ).

One day after qualifying for the quarterfinals, Quinteros told how he managed to overcome that defeat. “That night I felt a very big wound, I didn’t like it at all. So, sometimes we have to put our finger in the wound to get what we get later. The whole group changed their mentality, we started to think differently, to work a lot on our emotional state with the help of a psychologist because we have to keep in mind that this is a group of players that came from a difficult season from the beginning and it is not easy. “change everything thinking only about fighting at the top and not looking down anymore.”he recalled.

The team won four in a row and began to take off. However, it was still questioned by many fans. And the day Vélez beat Rosario Central 1-0 with a goal from Abiel Osorio at the end of the game, Quinteros’ family had a bad time in the audience -one of his sons argued strongly with the fans who were insulting his father before the goal- and then the coach, in the press conference, asked for harsh measures for the fans: “The people of Vélez have to expel them from the field. Those who criticize the players and the team should not come again. “Let them stay at home.”

Then, Quinteros had another litmus test as a coach, such as the shock resulting from the complaint of sexual abuse in Tucumán against four players on the team, who no longer belong to the club. In the final stretch of the Cup, he isolated his managers from the national scandal and the players responded with determination, sacrifice, concentration and football. Now they are one step away from glory.