Who was Hernán Manrique and why he was loved in football: revered in All Boys and Chicago and highly respected in Vélez

The universe of Argentine football suffered this Friday a very strong shock when the news of the death of Hernán Gabriel Manrique, who worked as coach of the Reserve Vélez was released. Before developing a career as a coach and youth coach which he spanned over a decade, Stick he had travelled a long journey as a footballer in the fields of promotionin which he achieved three category jumps and won a united sympathy that is difficult to obtain .

His last six years of work at Vélez have allowed him to complete an achievement that not many could boast of: He was much loved and respected by both fans of Strong as for those of All Boys and New Chicagothree clubs that form a triangle in the southwest of the city of Buenos Aires in which camaraderie does not usually prevail.

Born on August 17, 1973, M.anrique experienced his first great joy in professional sports at just 19 years old and achieved promotion from Primera B to the old Nacional B in the 1992/93 season. He was an important part (he played 24 games) of that team led by Mario Rizzi, in which the notable Alberto Pascutti and the forward Marcelo Blanco shone, and which made the leap to category on April 24, 1993, after defeating 2-1 against Defenders of Belgrano on the Ferro field for the last round of the match in which they preceded Sarmiento de Junín and Chacarita by two points.

Eight years later, this dynamic, intelligent and perceptive midfielder has achieved yet another promotion, but with the black and green shirt of Nueva Chicago, the nemesis of the All Boys. And he did it after a season of dreams that the little bull He had started with other goals: to start bottom of the table in a match that would have condemned seven teams to relegation.

With a team led by two of the club’s heroes, Jorge Traverso and Roberto Vega, and made up of other men who identify closely with their colors such as Christian chewy Gomez, Mario Marcelo and Hector little Sánchez, Chicago not only achieved a salvation that seemed like a chimera, but also ended up moving to the First Division after winning the Ridotto.

Manrique had a stellar appearance in the final of that mini-match against Instituto (directed by Gerardo Martino), given that on 2 June 2001 he scored the goal with which his team won 1-0 at home in the first leg. In the rematch, seven days later at the Chateau Carreras, the Mataderos cast triumphed again, this time 3-2, and leapt into Argentine football’s elite after 18 years of waiting.

Between those two successes with arch-rivals Floresta and Mataderos, Manrique was part of a historic event for Cordoba football, suffered great frustration and, almost immediately, won another promotion. With the Belgrano shirt he played against Talleres in the decisive round of the Primera B Nacional 1997/98. The T, whose coach was Ricardo Gareca, was left, due to penalties, with what is remembered in the Mediterranean province as the end of the century.

However, Stick and his teammates got their revenge, as the team led by Ricardo Rezza clinched their second promotion through the Ridotto after beating Banfield in the semi-final and Aldosivi in ​​the final. He Pirate They secured their place in the top flight after beating Mar del Plata 3-1 at the Chateau on 19 July (they had drawn 1-1 in the first leg).

After that successful spell in Belgrano, the midfielder played Union of Santa Fe. And after his experience in Chicago, he wore the shirts of Macara from Ecuador, Hurricane, Chacarita AND Atletico Tucumán (he was a teammate of Luis Miguel Rodríguez in the team that played in Argentino A in the 2006/07 season) before retiring in Union of Sunchales.

Already away from the courts, he began working as a coach in 2010. He spent a period at River, where he worked for the Infantiles, and in 2017 he arrived at Vélez: he first moved to the Infantiles structure, in 2019 he made the leap to Juveniles and in 2022, together with former club midfielder Marcelo Bravo, he took charge of the Reserve, which he led to second place in the last tournament, just one point behind champion Boca.

At the end of February, following the sacking of Uruguayan Alexander Medina, he and Bravo took charge of Primera de Vélez. The duo led the team in a 2-1 victory over Talleres in Córdoba, for the sixth round of the Professional Soccer League, before handing the helm to Ricardo Gareca and returning to work with the Reserve.

He was developing this work this Friday morning, when he suffered a breakdown during the technical interview with the players who were about to play a match against Racing at the Ituzaingó Olympic Village. The DT suffered cardiac arrest during the ambulance transfer to the hospital and passed away.