Demichelis, first defeat and Gallardo mirror: from the devastating fact to the wink that excites

Comparisons are obnoxious but inevitable and will appear at every turn. He knows Martin Demicheliswhich will have in River an elite squad but has one more rival that the other 27 teams playing in the Lega Professionisti shouldn’t face: the mirror of Marcellus Gallardo.

Being the heir to the Doll is a heavy burden, as is continuing the legacy of Carlos Bianchi at Boca or imagining another DT on the national team bench other than Lionel Scaloni, to name just two examples. What few imagined is that the bucket of reality would fall so quickly on Núñez, as two official matches of the cycle that the former Bayern Munich started began.

After touring the United States with a perfect balance of three wins and zero goals conceded, the opener against Central Córdoba in Santiago del Estero continued the upward trend. Until Belgrano arrived, a newly promoted but effective and exploited rival the two chances that the Millo defense gave him. Yep, the one DT was most concerned with working with since he took office.

If comparisons are hateful, statistics are even more so. If Demichelis fell in his second official game as DT for River, Gallardo racked up a total of 23 games until he suffered his first setback. Demolition Man.

El Muñeco made his debut as manager of Millo on June 6, 2014, replacing another heavyweight, Ramon Diaz, who came from being champion and went eight games without losing. Gallardo maintained his unbeaten streak until November of the same year, adding 14 First Division games, 3 in the Copa Argentina (he was eliminated on penalties after a 0-0 draw with Rosario Central) and 6 in the Copa Sudamericana.

Era students of La Plata the one that put an end to the promising start of that River de Gallardo: on November 12, 2014 he beat him 1-0 in Núñez with a goal from the Uruguayan Diego Vera.

a blink of an eye of fate

In times of defeat you must hold on to what you knowleave a loophole in the illusion. And in River’s defeat against Belgrano there was a peculiarity that will make the most cabuleros fans smile. Guilty, Paul Vegetti.

The data was provided by the television broadcast during the match and confirmed by the protagonist himself. The centre-forward was not only the author of the first goal against the Demichelis cycle: he was also responsible for the first goal conceded by the Gallardos, eight and a half years ago.

So, with the t-shirt of Gymnastics and Fencing of La Plata, Vegetti drew a crazy match at the Estadio Único de La Plata because until 90 minutes they were in a 0-0 draw. In ’91 the Colombian Teófilo Gutiérrez scored and in ‘100 (they had added 12) the cry of today’s idol of the Pirate came.

“Yes, that’s right… Well, I brought them luck, I hope Demichelis too… for them,” Vegetti said between laughter when the coincidence was mentioned to him.