On a historic night in Santa Fe, Central Córdoba was crowned champion of the 2024 Argentine Cup after beating Vélez 1-0. The Santiago team won the first professional title in its history and secured a place in the next Copa Libertadores de América. The team that had been decimated radically changed its forms and performance following the arrival of Omar De Felippe.
The experienced coach took charge of the team in the middle of the season and took over in the middle of a very bad streak in terms of results. However, his arrival in Santiago del Estero filled an entire province with hope and the impact was immediate. El Ferroviario began to reap wins and some draws, and almost forgot what it was like to be defeated.
After the historic consecration of Central Córdoba, the 62-year-old technical director who He is a Veteran of the Falkland Islands War He took time to reflect and leave a message to the combatants. In addition, he made a kind of comparison between the brutal efforts that were made on the battle front and the strict discipline that a professional team must have.
Born on April 3, 1962 in Mataderos, he began his football career in Atlanta and Huracán until he reached Reserva. At that time rperformed Compulsory Military Service and the following year, hours before his 20th birthday, the taking of Puerto Argentino took place. Less than a week later, Omar arrived on the islands with the Argentine troops and stayed until the day of surrender.
Although he never suffered any serious injuries while on the battlefield, De Felippe saw the death of many colleagues up closefriends and even enemies. This accumulation of traumatic events cost him dearly. So much so that it took more than seven years to be able to talk about the subject. “Football saved my life, it was my only motivation”he came to confess.
What Omar De Felippe said about the Malvinas combatants
‘El Soldado’, as those closest to him nicknamed him, had time to celebrate the first title in the history of Central Córdoba against one of the best teams of the season. But he also took a few minutes to reflect and expand on a sensitive topic: the Malvinas war. In that sense, the coach explained the similarities he found with that wartime past.
Omar, who in the 21 games he coached won 10, drew seven and lost the remaining four, began his defense by comparing the team with what society experiences on a day-to-day basis. “It’s what happens to any Argentine. You have to get up at 5 in the morning, take the bus, go to work and the money isn’t enough. If you’re hungry, cold or whatever, you have to keep going”began.
Then, the experienced coach with a past at Independiente, Vélez and Quilmes among others, continued with his comparative speech with his stay in Malvinas. “You had to make a fire and dry your clothes. If there was no food, they looked for it anyway. We had to survive and this is the same: you have to get up every day, work and improve, in the heat and in the cold. “You have to prevail over everything in life.”he expressed.
“I am very grateful to many War Veterans who experienced the same thing and, although they are fans of other teams, they fanned for Central Córdoba to be champions.”. I want to thank you publicly. “I feel like I represent them and I want to share the joy with them.”completed by the former combatant in the Falkland Islands in 1982.