Who is Leandro Stillitano, the new DT of Independiente: he is a graduate, he led the promotion and his biggest opportunity has arrived

Some have judged his appointment as too risky a decision by the new Board of Directors. Others recalled their first time at the club with a touch of joy and nostalgia. There were those who had to search his name on Google to find out who he was. Leandro Stillitano must prove to everyone that he is qualified to lead Independientea club where the black palate is still repeated like a mantra, an increasingly vague concept at a time when, for many, winning is not the first thing, but the only thing.

“This club demands that you play well, but always keep in mind the anthem of this institution: leg strong and tempered. My goal is for the fan to feel identified with the team, this is the first step in achieving a solid foundation.”, explained the DT when he was presented to the Libertadores de América a month and a half ago. The original idea had been that day, together with the president Fabiano Doman, there was Gustavo Quinteros, the coach initially chosen by the Board of Directors. But that seat ended up being occupied by the until then assistant pilot of the Chilean Colo-Colo.

To the surprise of some, Stillitano’s link with Independiente is not new. Not only because he was born in Avellaneda 39 years ago (he will turn 40 on February 6) and lived seven blocks from the stadium, nor because his father played in the club’s minor leagues in the 1970s (“He told me about Independiente and all the players who had made the institution great”, revealed). Also because in the Red worked for two and a half years and He was part of the coaching staff that won the last two official titles: the Copa Sudamericana 2017 and the Banca Suruga 2018.

That first step, from December 2016 to May 30, 2019, was as assistant on the field (and also as reserve coach for a semester) and hand in hand with ariel holan. I had met the man who came to football after a long hockey career in 2014 and I had also accompanied him when he led the Banfield Reserve and in his first solo experience, in Defense and Justice, between June 2015 and November 2016.

“I am deeply proud after these two and a half years of work in such a prestigious institution. It remains for me forever to have enjoyed every training session, every title, to enjoy the famous and mystical nights of the cup and the verse of a song that will be eternal: ‘Play in Japan, win the Maracana’”, Stillitano wrote on his Instagram account after that cycle closed It started much better than it ended, with little discussions between Holan and some members of the team and also with his physical trainer, Alejandro Kohan.

Well before those experiences, Stillitano had had a short career as a player. He trained in the lower divisions under Tristán Suárez, was released before signing his first professional contract, continued Luganowhere he played more than a hundred games as a winger or midfielder on the left, and subsequently worked South dock in the 2008/09 season before hanging up his boots at just 26 years old.

even during the game worked at the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (He did this until 2017, when he was already Holan’s assistant). And after his retirement, he began studying at the Argentine School of Business in Buenos Aires, where he graduated in Human Resources on August 1, 2014. In any case, the football virus continued to bite him.

A few months after he stopped playing, he got close San Martino di Burzaco, then a member of Primera D, to serve as an adviser. In June 2011, after coach Guillermo De Lucca (who is now one of his assistants) left for UAI Urquiza, he took over that role. In his first season in charge, the team finished sixth and then lost in one of the shortened semi-finals to Argentino de Quilmes. In the following one he finished third and fell again in the semifinals of the mini-tournament for the second promotion, this time with Ituzaingó.

This was followed by a short pass through united youthbetween September and December 2014, and the years of collaboration with Holan, from which he distanced himself after the farewell of Independiente, albeit on good terms. “I am very grateful to him and Alejandro Kohan. They met me when I directed San Martín de Burzaco in D. The differences were between them. The day Ariel was told he wasn’t going to continue, he called to let us know and I heard nothing more,” he recalled in April 2020.

After that separation Stillitano has joined Gustavo Quinteros’ coaching staff from Santa Fe, which he accompanied first in a short and unsuccessful cycle at Xolos de Tijuana, between December 2019 and June 2020, and then in a much more fruitful period at Colo-Colo. In the last two years, the technical staff led by the former coach of the Bolivian and Ecuadorian teams has won the 2021 Chilean Cup, the 2022 Chilean Super Cup and two months ago also the local championship.

After the victory of the list led by Doman in the October elections and the decision, a month later, to interrupt the relationship of Julio César Falcioni, the new board of directors targeted Quinteros. But DT had a contract with Colo-Colo until December 2023 and preferred to respect it, so his assistant emerged as an alternative. Will it be the same?

“Leandro Stillitano is ideal for a great team like Independiente. She has the personality to stand up in front of a group. He is very hardworking, very capable and has learned a lot during this time. We lose an assistant, but I’m proud that he’s going to Independiente,” praised Quinteros. Now it’s up to him to prove that what his mentor said about him is true.