Marcelo “Muñeco” Gallardo made his River Plate and Argentina debuts at 17 and is now making waves as a young coach in the tough Argentine first division.
When Gallardo’s River team visit Atlético Rafaela tomorrow it will be defending a 19-match unbeaten run in all competitions achieved during his first 100 days at the helm since he took charge at the beginning of the season.
It is unbeaten in a total of 27 matches since April.
River is four points clear at the top of the championship with 28 points from 12 matches, and has reached the quarterfinals of the South American Cup after completing a 5-1 aggregate victory over Paraguay’s Libertad on Wednesday.
Gallardo inherited the team as champion from Ramón Díaz but it has improved under the 38-year-old, who is among several young coaches breathing new life into the Argentine game.
While Argentina produces players good enough to join Europe’s top clubs and take their country to the World Cup finals, the domestic game has suffered for years from mediocrity.
One of the teams most affected by the trend, was River, renowned in the past for its fine attacking soccer but which was relegated for the first time in 2011.
Among the talent from River’s youth scheme was Gallardo, who played with Ariel Ortega, Hernán Crespo, Uruguay’s Enzo Francescoli and Chilean Marcelo Salas in a side that won a string of trophies in the 1990s including the Libertadores Cup.
Nicknamed “Muñeco” (doll or baby-face) by teammates for his little boy looks when he first appeared in the River first team squad, Gallardo was something of a prodigy.
He made his debut at 17 in 1993 under Daniel Passarella, who a few months later was appointed Argentina coach and gave Gallardo his international debut before taking him to the 1998 World Cup in France where they reached the quarterfinals.
Gallardo, who later played in France where he won the Ligue 1 title with Monaco in 2000 and the League Cup with them and Paris St-Germain, has become a top coach and won the Uruguayan title in 2012 in his only season in charge of Nacional.
He has not been afraid to impose his ideas, gleaned from playing under Marcelo Bielsa, Passarella and Alejandro Sabella, and has shown a conviction to attack and press high up the pitch, with a keen eye on changing tactics in extreme conditions.
For River’s next game against Rafaela, Gallardo has not confirmed the first team yet, as he is still waiting for the recovery of some players who are not fully fit after the match against Libertad.
Jonatan Maidana, Leonardo Pisculichi and Rodrigo Mora will probably return to the team, while young midfielder Guido Rodríguez will take Ariel Rojas’ or Leonardo Ponzio’s place in the midfield.
Herald staff with agencies