"It's one of the hardest decisions I've had to make."
Marcelo Gallardo was visibly very moved this Thursday, when he sat down at the desk in the press room of the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires.
Alongside club president Jorge Brito, vice-president Matías Patanián and sports director Enzo Francescoli, the Argentine coach had "an announcement to make".
"NO VOY A SEGUIR EN RIVER, ES LA DECISIÓN MÁS DIFÍCIL".
Así fue el anuncio completo de Marcelo Gallardo tras confirmar que no continuará en el Millonario al finalizar el campeonato.
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“Last night, I told my managers that my contract was up, that it ends in December and that I will no longer be at the club.
After thanking all the people who have worked alongside him at River Plate since taking office, as well as the supporters, in 2014 he added: "Beyond the sadness, I have a peace that makes me feel good about myself because the long path we have traveled makes me very proud, because we have experienced many things over the years, beautiful and others less, but which constitute the essence of a group who always looked ahead and never gave up.
Everything has an end, I think it's time to close a very beautiful, very precious cycle”.
There are only two games left in the 2022 season of the Argentine "Primera División", which will give its verdict on October 23.
River Plate are currently second, four points behind rivals Boca Juniors but with one more game to play.
This Sunday against Rosario Cenral, Marcelo Gallardo should therefore lead his last match on the Monumental bench.
In eight seasons on this bench, Marcelo Gallardo entered the history of the club by becoming its most successful coach.
Fourteen trophies in all mark his career: two Copa Libertadores, the equivalent of the Champions League for South America (2015, 2018), a Copa Sudamericana, the equivalent of the Europa League (2014), three Recopa Sudamericana , the South American Supercup (2015, 2016 and 2019), but also an Argentinian championship title (2021), three Argentinian Cups (2016, 2017, 2019) or two Argentinian Supercups (2018, 2021 ).
Of the 417 games he has led so far, his record is 228 wins, 101 draws and 88 defeats.
The following ?
“A break”, announced the one who had also defended the colors of River Plate as a player (1993-99, 2003-06 and 2008-10).
The former Argentinian international (44 caps) had also played in France, at AS Monaco (1999-03) and Paris Saint-Germain (2007-08), where his name has already been mentioned several times to occupy the bench, including quite recently.