Everyone knows them for being the coach of
Godoy Cruz de Mendoza
, the sensation of the
Professional League Cup
. However,
Daniel Oldrá
, just turned 57, is much more than that for
Tomba
, his lifelong club. Because the
Cat
, an indelible nickname that a schoolmate gave him because of his striking light blue eyes, was trained at the headquarters at 477 Balcarce Street. There he grew up and reached Primera and from there he made the leap to play for
River
de
César Luis Menotti
with
Daniel Passarella
, his great idol, as a partner. Grateful, he returned every time he was called. So much so that, once retired, he was summoned nine times to assume the interim management of a
winery
in crisis. And since he always said yes and managed to put out the fires,
now it's his turn
. And he enjoys it more than anyone else. "Godoy Cruz is everything to me, he shaped me as a person and gave me a name," he tells Clarín.
On April 11, 2023, Gato Oldrá's phone rang again. Diego Flores was once again fired from Godoy Cruz just one year and a day after the end of his first cycle. Oldrá couldn't say no. But this time, the leadership did not go out desperate to find a coach.
He had time and Tomba began to add good results.
After the bad start with the Translator, the team finished ninth in the tournament that had River as champion. In the second half, in last year's League Cup, the team made it into the playoffs and was one step away from the final. He also had the chance to get into the Libertadores. And now, in the League Cup, he is one of the cheerleaders in zone B, with one foot inside, once again, of the quarterfinals.
Surrounded by former goalkeeper Nelson Ibáñez and former midfielder Nico Olmedo, two other historical figures of the club, the coaching staff has the perfect alchemy. But Gato Oldrá is convinced that he got here by the work and grace of his team. "The only important thing in football is the players," he clarifies again and again.
The prehistory of the Oldrá Cat
When he reviews his story, he talks about the hours in the pasture, the train trips to achieve the dream of playing in Primera, and the support of his friends, such as
Pocho Sosa
, renowned Cuyo musician, interpreter of the Autumn tune in Mendoza, who told him He bought the boots because his family couldn't. He lived 15 blocks from the La Bodega club, the Feliciano Gambarte stadium. He began training at the age of 8 in the Godoy Cruz youth teams. And, at the age of 20, in 1987, he debuted in First Division. He still did not know that he would become one of the most important defenders in the history of Mendoza soccer.
"My career was always a dream. I wanted to play in Godoy Cruz because it was my neighborhood, I lived very close to the stadium, in the Laprida neighborhood. When I started there were two dirt courts, and one for basketball, and I have accompanied the growth of the club," account.
He started playing in Godoy Cruz when his parents separated. "My mother had to go to work, she got up at 4 in the morning. It was difficult. I was 8 years old and my brother was 4. We were left alone, the neighbors took care of us. So my life was the club, there I found the containment".
Daniel Oldrá, coach of Godoy Cruz. Photos: Nicolás Ríos
And he talks about his pending account: "If I have to complain about something to my trainers, it is that they did not encourage me to continue studying. And, if there is something that encourages kids, it is that they study, that they be good people and, later, footballers." ".
His time at River
In mid-1988, Oldrá was transferred to River. He was 21 years old and arrived at the beginning of César Luis Menotti's cycle, in a team full of stars that ended up crashing. He was a companion of Passarella, Checho Batista, Loco Enrique, Pipa Higuaín, Bichi Borghi, Milton Melgar, Polilla Da Silva and Abel Balbo. Later, with Passarella as coach after Mostaza Merlo's brief stint, he also shared the squad with a young Batistuta. And he had the pleasure of becoming champion. There were 11 games with the red band.
-What did River's call mean for your career?
-It was difficult to get there because there was no internet or media. It was difficult, there were not many means of transportation to get there. It was a dream story. You had to play and show. Before going to River I had tried myself at Independiente de Avellaneda. And Dr. Julio Vega, president of Godoy Cruz, tells me: "You have to go try River because otherwise we are going to look bad." But I told him that I had already stayed in Independiente, that the Indian Jorge Solari was there. He had a date to introduce me. At that time there were not so many representatives and the leaders made the contracts for you. I come back from Independiente and two days later I have to get back on the train. And it took a long time to get to Buenos Aires. I remember that that time the train broke down and, instead of arriving at 9 in the morning, I arrived at 2 in the afternoon and there was no one there. I didn't have a coin and had to call Dr. Vega at the Italian Hospital in Mendoza.
-And what did you do?
-They lent me a phone at the train station and I spent an hour to be treated at the hospital. "Don't be polite," she told the nurse and, in the end, they called for them to come and get me.
-It was a golden era for River, right?
-River had just emerged as champion of everything with Bambino Veira. And in those days there was Griguol. I played as a 3. When training was over, president Hugo Santilli took me to an office. He was sitting in a huge chair. He tells me to go back to Mendoza. In Godoy Cruz they thought I had gone back on my own, but it was to make the contract. In April, they told me that I had to show up when Menotti started directing.
River model Oldrá. Daniel Passarella, Fabián Basualdo, Daniel Oldrá, Jorge Higuaín, Ángel Comizzo, Gustavo Zapata, Enrique Corti, Ramón Centurión, Juan José Borrelli, José Tiburcio Serrizuela and Julio Zamora. Photo: Archive
-What do you remember from that season?
-Passarella was my idol. I had it on a poster in my house. She shared the room with me, she gave me advice. On the team were Pipa Higuaín, Loco Enrique, (José Tiburcio) Serrizuela, Melgar, Jorge Rinaldi, Mario Bevilacqua, who had left Talleres. They were all figures and no one knew me. Who was going to know me if I was from Mendoza?
-What did you learn from these figures?
-Passarella was a great defender, a winner and he scored things that have stayed with me to this day. The positioning, the advances, and things that I can convey to the kids. I learned that you have to be smart, that's the most important thing. You can be talented, virtuous, but the player needs to be intelligent.
In 1991, Oldrá was loaned to Blooming of Bolivia, where he played one and a half seasons. In 1993, he returned to Mendoza as a player for Independiente Rivadavia and a few months later, he was called up by Godoy Cruz. He was part of the heroes of '94, the team that managed to advance from the then called Torneo del Interior to the Nacional B.
In 1996, he played for Gimnasia y Tiro de Salta, on the team that was promoted to the First Division. And a year later he returned to Godoy Cruz to finish his career in his love club. He left at the age of 36, in 2002, after 187 games and 9 goals.
The Trainer Cat
Once retired, Oldrá worked in the club's minor divisions until he became assistant to Juan Manuel Llop, in
Tomba
's promotion in 2005. In 2007, he was interim for the first time and Godoy Cruz was promoted to First Division again. Since then, the Mendoza club remains in the top category. "I always tell the kids that the club shaped me as a person. We would meet on Balcarce Street, next to the ditch, to play ball. My life was the club, going to school and the club again," he says with devotion.
He had several interim positions leading the Bodeguero in the First Division: Apertura 2008 (twelve games), Apertura 2009 (one game), Clausura 2012 (one game), Libertadores 2012 (one game), Inicial 2012 (one game), Transition 2014 ( five matches), 2015 Championship (21 matches), 2015 Argentine Cup (one match) and 2018-19 Tournament (one match). But in the 2023 Professional League things changed. The results left him in the position and in April he will celebrate one year as coach. "The advantage I can have is that I know all the players who come to the club, all the boys who are in the youth teams," he analyzes.
-Is football more professional now?
Today players have much more information. We were on the ball all the time. Now that has been lost, the innate talent. I remember that I played with the 25-year-olds and I was 12. So I had to put my arms in, learn to defend myself so that they wouldn't throw me.
Daniel Oldrá and the club of his entire life. Photo: Nicolás Ríos
-How do you handle being the club's idol?
-I don't give it that much importance. It matters to me that the club is a benchmark, the best in Argentina, achieving a little star.
-What would the fans say to you if you went to another club?
-I would never want to leave, but it can happen. At the age I am, good things and not so much happen to you. You make decisions in the moments when they happen to you. You never know, if there are changes in Godoy Cruz and a cycle ends, I will have to look for it. The club is the most beautiful thing I have, but I don't believe I am the owner. If they tell me I have to go out, I will have to do it. They have been in Godoy Cruz for more than 40 years.
-But it's nice to have stopped being interim...
-It doesn't bother me if I'm interim or official. I'm not interested in the sheet metal. I like being in the club. And they have looked for me to direct and to be a scout for foreign teams. But it's hard for me to leave Mendoza. It already happened to me as a player, I left and I missed it.
-What do you contribute to the players?
-The affection, passion and sense of belonging that I want my players to have, to get involved with the people of the club.
-What style of coach are you?
-I'm quite calm... Like at home, I don't get angry. I speak little to avoid being a slave to my own words. I have had coaches who spoke to me for 40 minutes and I only listened to the first word and the last. Everything that happened to me as a footballer I try not to let it happen to my players.
The present and dreams
Oldrá has four children: three boys and one girl. One of them works with the club's Reserve and the others are fans of Godoy Cruz and follow the team in all their games.
-They managed, beyond the results, for the players to want to come play at Godoy Cruz...
It was always difficult to bring players. But now they see Godoy Cruz from another place. Now it has prestige, you see it above, well positioned at the national level. The boys (because of the players) have created an identity. I just ask them to continue being themselves. That if the football world is talking about Godoy Cruz, it is because of them.
-How do you see refereeing in Argentine soccer?
-I make decisions so as not to harm my club, I have never treated a referee badly and they have not kicked me off the field. If at any point I said something, I apologized when I finished.
-Do you agree with the VAR?
-Technology serves to improve but ideally it should not limit the essence of the referee. I don't like VAR because today you have to wait for them to tell you it's a goal to shout it. It's the saddest thing there is.
-And the tight schedule doesn't help either...
-In 30 days we have played 10 games. You run the risk of players getting injured or having a hard time recovering. Because we are in the interior, we also have to travel permanently. I do not have free time. It is difficult to clear your mind with so many games. Today I am thinking about the upcoming game and, at the same time, watching the opponent on the following date.
-What do you have left to accomplish?
-The only dream is that Godoy Cruz becomes champion. I always ask that God gives me the possibility. Before leaving this world I want to see my champion club, let it be the protagonist.