There is no way back. And there will be a second round. Yes, Marcelo Gallardo has everything agreed with the leadership and will become River coach again. The return was sealed after a couple of meetings and talks that started on Monday between Muñeco and the club president, Jorge Brito. The coach will lead his first practice on Monday, after Sunday’s match in Santa Fe against Unión on matchday 9 of the Professional League and will debut against Huracán on Saturday the 10th at the Monumental.
In this way, after almost two years and after the departure of Martín Demichelis, Gallardo will have his second cycle at the club. In the first, which lasted more than eight years, he won 14 titles, including two Copa Libertadores, and left a legend that was transformed into a statue.
This new stage will begin after the signing of his contract, which will extend for a year and a half, until December 2025, which coincides with the end of Brito’s mandate.
In addition to the Professional League, the great objective ahead will be the Copa Libertadores. And there is no time to waste as the round of 16 duel is just around the corner. On August 14 (in Córdoba) and 21 (in the Monumental), River will face Talleres.
Gallardo’s agreement with River was sealed after Muñeco met with Brito, who called him on Sunday night to let him know his desire for him to return to the club.
Then, the native of Merlo brought forward his return from Mendoza, where he went to see his son Nahuel, who plays for Independiente Rivadavia and on Saturday he was on the substitute bench in the Mendoza team’s 1-0 victory over Independiente.
Gallardo arrived in Buenos Aires on Monday morning with his wife, Geraldine, and his youngest son, Benjamín. He dribbled at the media who were waiting for him in the Aeroparque hall as he left for the runway, where he took photos with terminal workers, and after arriving at his house, he began to diagram his new River.
Then, he began to work on the assembly together with Mariano Barnao, one of his flankers, who was a professional soccer manager in his first cycle and began to call the members of the coaching staff, which will be based on the usual collaborators ( Matías Biscay and Hernán Buján will be the field assistants; Pablo Dolce, the physical trainer; César Zinelli, with various tasks including analyzing rivals; Nahuel Hidalgo, the video analyst and Jorge Bombicino, the kinesiologist).
On Monday night, Gallardo had a first meeting with Brito. And there were other meetings on Tuesday and this Wednesday morning, when the agreement was sealed for the return. The Doll is back in River. And he will begin his second cycle as the club’s coach.