The first year of Martin Demichelis as technical director of River It has two faces. He was not enough to become champion of the Professional League with an eleven point advantage nor to finish as leader of the annual table with a margin of 18 units. They finished undefeated in all the classics and won both matches against Boca. He even closed 2023 with the Olympic return in the Champions Trophy.
However, the elimination in the round of 16 of the Argentine Cup at the hands of Talleres and the premature exit from the Copa Libertadores after being surpassed by Inter de Porto Alegre – in both head-to-head due to penalties -, combined with some questions about its way of leading, ended up overshadowing what would have been a brilliant season for any other coach anywhere else.
On Friday night, after River beat Rosario Central 2-0, Demichelis did not escape the microphones. And after having tried to cushion the shock that came with Claudio Diablito Echeverri’s “I’m not going to renew,” the coach took stock of his first 365 days on the Millionaire’s bench and attempted a self-criticism.
“I had to adapt to a lot of things. I trained at Bayern Munich where we shared everything with all the coaches and I have no secrets. I try to explain and here explaining ended up playing against me“, the former defender opened.
And followed: “Sincerity played against me. And I’m not going to explain anything further. Sometimes the fundamentals are not enough to satisfy. But it was a year of great experience, not only from a football perspective but also from a cultural perspective.”
Micho, who has a contract until December 2025, in line with the end of Jorge Brito’s management, had appeared beaten after the defeat, also on penalties, against Central in the semifinals of the League Cup. However, after the Olympic return at the Madre de Ciudades in Santiago, he looked strengthened and fully equipped to face a new cycle, now without many of the references, with Enzo Pérez and Jonatan Maidana at the helm, on the squad. He even smiled when Esequiel Barco and Enzo Díaz surprised him by dumping a bucket of ice water on him while he was giving an interview to the owners of the TV rights.
“The player stops being a player when he loses competitiveness. I understand when the player gets angry because he doesn’t play. River is an institution that does not have time to play five games in a row“, he suggested about some of the upcoming cycle ends.
And he closed: “We live in a country that is very passionate about football and there are a lot of opinion makers. The immediacy in this technological world makes everything happen quickly. The public has freedom of opinion. I am happy to be in River and I do my best so that the results happen. I have made decisions thinking that it was best for the team. That is my duty“.