More than Gallardo: the stories of the three coaches who have led the same team in Argentina for the longest time

The full eight seasons and the ninth in transit that has started Marcellus Gallardo as coach of River, remained in the field of statistics along with the 14 new trophies that are in Núñez’s showcases. The Doll left the feeling that such a long cycle in modern football is an exception which, in any case, has updated the seven years -and eight seasons- that Carlos Timoteo Griguol spent at Ferro Carril Oeste, the last of the long trials term anchored in the last century.

Black and white photos of Vittorio Spinetto and his 14 seasons in 13 and a half years Velez between 1941 and 1955, or 12 of Jose Maria Minella inside Millionaire, between 1947 and 1959, seem to confirm this. Hand. In the new millennium there are coaches who opened their account before Doll and keep adding. Where is it? In the Metropolitan Ascent and the Interior and everyone spoke with clarion.

The most recognized is Paul Vicowho in March will become the technical director with the most years at the helm of the same team: 14 at the helm Adrogue brown, with whom he was twice promoted to the Second Division, in which he remained for six seasons, an unprecedented feat for that suburban club. When Gallardo began his cycle in River, the DT of the Tricolore had already made the first of the jumps from Primera B to, then, B Nacional.

But there are others that continue to count the seasons and, over time, surpass the Gallardo cycle. You have to look for them in the regionals or the federal tournament. In Independent of Chivilcoy, Albert Salvaggio signed as coach in 2009 and led the Red inside federal a up to the quarterfinals, instance in which he was eliminated by Olympus. In the regional championship he has delegated the task to another coach.

In three streams, Leonardo Gomez it goes for 10 years in front of that city’s hurricane. The Globe knew how to be in the First division and who today competes in the Regional Amateur Federationl in which 281 other teams, divided into 79 zones and 8 regions throughout the national territory, compete for one of the four promotions in Federal A.

The Tres Arroyos Hurricane Project

In three streams, DT Huracán is Leo, simple. He divides his time at the Tres Arroyos Electric Cooperative (CELTA) which takes care of the city’s electricity grid. It’s the same one who played with the 5 on his back since childhood and in the course of regional tournaments in Federal A, which brought the Globo to B Nacional and Primera, in the 2004 season after winning the promotion over Atlético Rafaela.

After relegation the following season, he returned to Federal A, then to B – he’s not there today – and after an internal debate, the club decided to withdraw from that competition and concentrate on the Tresarroyense championship. There, then, in 2013 Gómez arrived as DT and brought the team back to tournaments organized by the AFA Federal Council.

He won the league titles in the 2014 and 2018 seasons. He has also coordinated all of the club’s football for some time: his hallmark is the inferiors, given that his teams are almost entirely made up of quarry values. He now has two: one with which he competes in the local league and another with which he will try for promotion.

In the first weekend of November, the team appearing in the Tres Arroyos championship beat Olimpo 2-0 and won the Clausura.

“I grew up in the club, I have directed and I direct because it is Huracán. I don’t see myself heading anywhere else. I know the football taste of the club well and how the managers are managed. In addition to having been part of a historic process for the club, having played in practically all categories. This has to do with the love of people and leaders in difficult times. Because in good times, everyone supports you…”, guesses Gómez, who has a loaded routine.

He starts his working day as accountant for the electricity company at 7am, finishes at 2am, from there he goes to train for the First Division until 4am, then has lunch and at 6pm starts the lower bracket until 8am, except on Mondays, when the First is not training. The weekend is entirely dedicated to competition: Saturday, young people; Sunday, Prime

“Except for the enormous distances and without wanting to compare myself with Gallardo, the processes are similar: I took my idea globally. Both in the First Division and below, I want to keep a line and I have. Many people who are in the club have, we have, the same sense of belonging that Gallardo and the managers of River have ”, speculates Leo Gómez.

A bill longer than that of the doll

In Independiente de Chivilcoy, the reins of the team have been led by Alberto Salvaggio since 2009. This means that the former goalkeeper of Sarmiento de Junín and Los Andes, among other clubs, will celebrate 14 years in charge of the team in 2023. Where is the key?

“In 2014 we went down, I presented my resignation and they didn’t accept it. The project was funded and we promoted again. This year we’ve spent 17 games in the relegation zone -17 eh, in red- and no one has ever thought of changing. Today this gift makes us very happy: not only the technical staff, I also say it for the management, we are all friends and we know how we think,” says Salvaggio, who believes that, like the Dollthe club trusted the project.

“I think the people at River were so convinced of what their coach was doing that through thick and thin they would make it count equally. Here goes through a belief of people for your work”, draw parallels. But the doll completed one cycle and was gone Do Projects Kill Professional Projection?

“Representing my city and being part of it is gratifying. There are so many players trained in the lower ranks, we have played in the Argentine Cup twice, now we will try again (it will be a rival of Estudiantes de La Plata), and I also had the possibility to leave I They called me several times, now they also called me from two places. I live here, for work reasons it’s very difficult to move around, even if I would love to”, acknowledges the DT.

The DT who stayed to live

Neither Gallardo nor Gómez nor Salvaggio carried the sense of belonging all the way to Pablo Vico, who spends 24 hours a day at the Brown de Adrogué. He lives there, next to the changing rooms behind one of the stands. In March he will celebrate 15 years with the Tricolor and no one associates him with another institute.

Not even the leaders accepted his resignation when his team lost nine games in a row in this tournament. The club’s president, Adrián Vairo, told him: “You’re not leaving here, the players will leave but you won’t.” The bad race continues: there were 12 games without a win with just two points out of a possible 36, but when March arrives, Vico will have completed 15 uninterrupted years at the helm of the Tricolore. Does it stay for life?

“Everyone is seduced by growth. In my case, as long as there is a serious project. If they call me and it’s match by match, I’ll stay at the Brown de Adrogué. Brown is my home. I can’t change clubs every six months: I can’t take the third one. I want a serious project, if there is one, I sit down at a small table. Two of the teams that are now in the semifinals have called me, but without an interesting project like here (in Brown)”, explains who gave the club the only two promotions to the first division prelude.

The key to staying ahead has to do with budget management. “The quality of the work is demonstrated daily. With an austere budget, many things can be done, as long as one has the ability to do them ”, she distinguishes.

Unlike Salvaggio or Leo Gómez, Vico imagines himself at the head of another institution. “I have a lot of membership in the club, as should also be the case with Gallardo. For this reason, given the possibility of growth, at some point I would like to take the leap ”, he admits.

The football cliché that explains the sudden departures of coaches who are unable to weave a victorious path is usually explained by the analogy of the fuse. That when things fail, the DT is usually the fuse that blows and replaces itself to keep the engine running. In some clubs, it seems, the mechanics are a framework where the coach is never the problem.