River will try to definitively solve its defensive problems with two names of internationals

Yes, OK Marcello Gallardo He stated that defensive errors are part of “a whole”, which has to do with the functioning of the team, for 2023 the idea is to rearm the defense. It’s inside River indicate two figures to take command at the bottom.

One of them is a national team player who will be at the World Cup in Qatar and the other is a former team member who also wore the albiceleste. Nicola Otamendi Y Ramiro Funes Mori I’m on River’s radar.

As was discovered by Clarin, the central goal scorer of the national team He has already let the club know through relatives that he dreams of retiring to Núñez. and leaders
They admit that there has already been contact with people around the defender who plays for Benfica in Portugal.

Although Otamendi has a contract with that Portuguese club until 30 June 2023, in River believe there is a chance he will land in Núñez in JanuaryIt is after the World Cup in Qatar. And this has to do with the fact that the player has an exit clause six months before the expiration of his contract with Benfica and could accept the termination.

Otamendi is a confessed River fan, a long-known situation. And although he hasn’t trained at the Millionaire, he intends to finish his career in the club he loves him.

The central scorer came from Vélez, the team from which he left in 2010 for Porto de Portugal. In 2014, Valencia bought it for 12 million euros and, a year later, City held it for 44 million of the same currency.

For the first time there was talk that the band could wear it in 2020. But there it avoided demagogy: “I don’t want to get Gallardo in trouble“he said at the time. But now the possibility is much greater.

And it is a special profile, because it is not normal for a player without a past in a club to show such passion for that team. In his case, with Chicanas al Boca on his social networks. In 2018, when Muñe’s side were eliminated from the Club World Cup, he warned that Xeneize fans were making fun of him and took the opportunity to remind them of the Madrid final on 9/12/18.

“I hope it happens. Our whole family is a River Plate fan, my father, my mother, my brothers. And he too. But hey, now is not the time. He is at Benfica and will give everything for the club, as he has done with everyone who has passed. But I hope he comes to the River, ”said Gabriel, his brother and chicken like Nicolás.

Otamendi won’t be the only central indicator River will be looking for. The return of Ramiro Funes Mori, a player trained in Núñez, is also expected.

The Mendoza central defender made his Millionaire debut in 2011, in the B Nacional, got promotion to the First Division and won six titles at the River, two with Ramón Díaz and four with Marcelo Gallardo, including the Copa Libertadores 2015, where he he scored a goal in the final against Tigres and was one of the defensive banners in that competition.

In addition, his high level in the Millionaire and his early years in Europe led him to the Argentina national team, with 26 games and two goals, one in the South American qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

After breaking through at River, the left-handed defender emigrated to European football: he spent three seasons at Everton in the Premier League and three more at Villarreal in La Liga in Spain, where he became Europa League champion, but had little activity due to of various injuries. . Last year he played football in Saudi Arabia and recently arranged for his incorporation to Cruz Azul in Mexico, where he signed a one-year contract.

So, it is speculated that the reason for that decision has to do with the fact that the return to the River is in his head in mid-2023.

“They contacted me, but I want to be confidential about it. I had the opportunity to return but it wasn’t time yet. It’s in my head to retire back to River. All the people ask me to turn around and I tell them to stay calm because for now is not the time. I would love to, I always watch the film about returning to River and I will do it sooner or later, “Funes Mori said some time ago.

In this passing market, River has not incorporated defenders despite the defensive problems he has. He had already done so in the summer, with the arrivals of Leandro González Pirez, Emanuel Mammana, Andrés Herrera and Elías Gómez. But the defense doesn’t work. And he will have to renew himself and not underestimate a sensitive area of ​​the team.

Paulo Díaz and David Martínez may be offered offers beyond their current lows and one of them may leave; González Pirez would not have continued; Javier Pinola will likely retire and Jonatan Maidana is not in physical condition to endure a series of matches, but he can contribute with his experience in occasional matches.

So, next year River will have to rebuild his defense and put together a structure that gives him solidity. And that is why he thinks of two figures who not only provide guarantees but also take over the leadership so that Núñez’s team once again has the defensive confidence they have lost.