The wait is over. The statue of Marcelo Gallardo will be presented on Thursday, May 25, the day that commemorates the 122nd anniversary of River. And finally the bronze mass that is in front of Avenida Figueroa Alcorta, a few meters from Avenida Ángel Labruna, will be discovered.
Since October last year, the statue of the Doll is installed in its place and covered by fabrics. And after the postponement of December 9, now the event will take place on a special day for the institution, which will be anniversary. 1,628 days before the final against Boca in Madrid that promoted this monument to Gallardo, the idol and the fans will be able to share that historic moment.
Although the departure of the club and Carlos Trillo, ideologue and promoter of the statue, was always that the players of the professional squad were part of the party, in this case it will be impossible because the team of Martín Demichelis will be in Lima to play against Sporting Cristal for the fourth date of the group stage of the Copa Libertadores. As the match will be played at 21, the inauguration of the statue of Gallardo is scheduled for 16.
The initial project aimed to present the work on the first anniversary of the final against Boca, the times were dilated for different reasons and the pandemic considerably extended the completion of the statue of 6.3 tons and more than seven meters high. And the last delay was due to the sculptor Mercedes Savall deciding to completely redo Gallardo's face. Thus, coincidentally, the postponed inauguration of the tribute to the Doll will be the best farewell for the most winning coach in the history of River.
The statue of the Doll, raising the Libertadores.Photo: Marcelo Carroll
Once the statue was completed on October 31 last year, it was set as a presentation on December 9, the fourth anniversary of the Madrid final. And when everything was practically assembled, it was suspended again. That time the change of plans obeyed a personal request from Gallardo himself.
The reason had to do with the match of Argentina against the Netherlands for the quarterfinals of the World Cup, which was played that Friday at 16 (Argentine time) and that Lionel Scaloni's team would end up winning by penalties after equalizing 2 to 2 to head towards the World Cup, which would obtain nine days later after defeating Croatia first in the semifinals by 3 to 0 and on Sunday 18 to France from the 12 steps after drawing 3 to 3.
The winningest coach in River's history understood that it was not time to divert the focus. In his request, the Doll said that he wanted to preserve the World Cup spirit so that all Argentine fans, without distinction of clubs, would join in the encouragement of the National Team. Obviously, after Gallardo's word there was consensus in the club to make the decision to postpone the tribute, accompanying the general feeling of support for a National Team that, on top of that, had the particularity of having six players emerged from the riverplatense quarry and that the only member of Argentine football – Franco Armani – was from River.
The bronze mass was inspired by a photo that Clarín photographer Marcelo Carroll took of Gallardo with the Libertadores in his hands on the field of play at the Santiago Bernabéu. The statue that will remain forever at the door of the stadium was not only the work of Trillo and Savall, the fans also left their traces, with the donation of keys and metal elements to build it. And they will also be protagonists since they will be in the vicinity of the Monumental on May 25, where an unforgettable party will be lived.
A photo, to make a statue. Clarín photographer Marcelo Carroll photographed Gallardo at the Bernabéu.Photo: Marcelo Carroll
In turn, Carlos Trillo, the maximum promoter of the realization of the statue of Gallardo, decided that a time capsule would accompany the figure of the Doll. "In Argentina the donations are for 99 years, that is to say that when that deadline is met the statue will return to the Trillo family. That's why I decided to include a time capsule next to the statue, where I put a letter for my offspring, great-grandchildren, grandchildren and tell them that this work was made by people from River. And that they have to donate it back to River. Also a letter to Brito, D'Onofrio and Gallardo, where I tell future generations what this moment of River meant. I also included a flash drive with photographs. Surely they do not know what it is for, so I also tell you that," the ideologue of the work told Clarín.
