Marcelo Gallardo ‘rethinks’ his future at River Plate and in Uruguay they are excited

In Uruguay, a country that faces the hours before the Copa Libertadores dispute between Palmeiras and Flamengo, the verb “rethink”, used this Thursday by the Argentine River Plate coach, Marcelo Gallardo, has lit the wick of illusion in the local fans.

The name of the Doll has been the most repeated (by desired) since last November 19, the dismissal of Óscar Washington Tabárez as Uruguay coach was announced After more than 15 years of “process”, as everyone calls the work carried out by the veteran coach, which led to the 2011 Copa América title and fourth place in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

“I think I deserve the possibility of rethinking myself, because it takes a lot of energy to continue with a bond as strong as the one I have with this institution,” Gallardo said before the microphones of ESPN this Thursday, as soon as he was proclaimed champion of the Argentine tournament 2021, a title that was missing in his successful showcases.

The former player of the Argentine River Plate, the Uruguayan National or the French Paris Saint-Germain clarified, during said interview, that He is “ending” his contract and that is “the first time” since he sat on the ‘millionaire’ bench that he is in such a “position”.

“I have given everything to this club until today. I think it’s the first time, beyond some moment that I have passed from anxiety, to see and analyze if you continue or not because it requires a lot of effort and be with full energy, “Gallardo clarified.

The Doll recognized that, so far, He did not think about his immediate future, because River Plate does not “deserve” that his head was “elsewhere”. “We wanted to win and did not want to go further,” he said.

After ‘paying’ last night one of the few outstanding accounts of the era that began on May 30, 2014, the coach added his thirteenth title as a franjirrojo coach: 2 Libertadores Cups (2015 and 2018), 1 South American Cup (2014), 3 South American Recopas (2015, 2016 and 2019), 1 Suruga Bank Cup (2015), 3 Argentine Cups (2016, 2017 and 2019), 2 Argentine Super Cups ( 2017 and 2019) and 1 Argentine League (2021).

Uruguay on the horizon?

When a week ago the news of the dismissal of Tabárez as a celestial technician flooded not only the Uruguayan media, but all over the world, began the dance of names for their possible succession.

Óscar Washington Tabárez stops being the coach of Uruguay after 15 years and 8 months

In addition to the Uruguayans Diego Aguirre, coach of the Brazilian Porto Alegre International, Guillermo Almada, who directs the Mexican Santos Laguna, the alexander medina, coach of the Argentine workshops, the name that emerged with great force was that of Marcelo Gallardo.

The one who was also a midfielder in the Uruguayan National (2010-2011) began his career as a coach precisely in the Montevideo club just hanging up his boots, and he did it the same way he ended up as a footballer: winning the local Championship.

That knowledge of the country and Uruguayan football, in addition to his triumphant career as a coach, make him the longed-for selector, considering the critical situation in which Uruguay faces the last four rounds of the South American qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

Seventh, with 16 points, the same as Chile (sixth), even outside the play-off, without knowing the victory since September 9 – when they defeated Ecuador 1-0 – and with three severe goals conceded in the following five dates , La Celeste runs the risk of being left out of a World Cup, which has not happened since Germany 2006.

The selection of ‘Uruguay is increasingly out of the World Cup’ in Qatar 2022, says the Uruguayan press after the 3-0 defeat by Bolivia

As EFE learned from sources from the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF), the governing body of local football “maintained informal contact with Marcelo Gallardo’s environment and a formal meeting is expected to be held”, something much more feasible once the tournament has been decided in Argentina.

“It is surely the most difficult (decision) of my life,” said Gallardo last night, who, with those words, lit a light of illusion in the damaged celestial hearts. (D)