2023-07-18 05:01:00
The River coach, Martín Demichelis, consecrated Argentine soccer champion months after his arrival, recalled this Monday that he felt “with the capacity to assume the position” when the leadership proposed to replace Marcelo Gallardo, the most winning DT in history of the club
A rookie in the first division, after leading Bayern Munich’s minor divisions, Demichelis said that he never doubted his conditions or taking on the challenge of taking over from “Muñeco”, who set the bar high with the conquest of 14 titles.
“It wasn’t easy but I understood that if River decided on us, it was time because I had invested a lot of time in training myself. I felt capable of assuming the position, beyond the fact that as DT one knows that one can win, tie and lose. Sometimes the ball goes in and sometimes it comes out,” reflected the man from Cordoba at a press conference shared with his collaborators at the River Camp property.
Demichelis, moved on Saturday after the consecration victory in the Professional League, defined as “an unforgettable moment” what he experienced at the Monumental stadium, where he was applauded by the 86,000 people who attended the match with Estudiantes de La Plata.
In a return to his roots, after the first title of his career as a coach, the former defender of River, Bayern Munich and the Argentine national team thanked “Ramón Díaz, the Engineer (Manuel) Pellegrini and so many coaches” with whom he was imbued to outline his soccer ideology.
Demichelis highlighted as a virtue of the team the ability to “mutate” its tactical scheme to build the champion campaign, which recorded 57 points, with 18 wins, three draws and four losses, 45 goals for and 16 against in 25 dates, with two more to complete the League calendar.
“When we arrived, we knew that we were going to need between 6, 8 or 10 games to define an idea, because the break for the World Cup in Qatar had been very long. We had a good pre-season and that helped us a lot”, explained the coach, who also he clarified the tactical moves he sought to implement. “In the first games we started with a 4-3-3 but later we adjusted to what the present dictated. We mutated and on the eighth date in Junín (2-0 vs. Sarmiento) we won with authority and from there the rest teams understood that we were prepared,” he said.
“We knew how to learn from our mistakes, we took the lead and set the pace of the tournament. We won with supremacy and we were just deserving of this title,” he summed up about the comfortable path to the conquest of the club’s 70th star.
First Confirmed Reinforcement
Demichelis assured that the team’s first reinforcement will be Ramiro Funes Mori, who in the next few hours will join the squad for the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores.
Without going into details of the transfer market, the coach said: “The first great reinforcement that we have today is David Martínez (recovered from an injury); he asked to play in reserve and was able to train at the level of the group, we are very happy to be able to count on him.”
And he added: “The next one will also be Bruno Zuculini, who is very close to being able to return to work alongside the rest; and there is Ramiro Funes Mori, who is real, but is in the hands of the club.”
Thus, Demichelis chose not to talk about the open negotiations for the Uruguayan defender Sebastián Bosselli, the Inter Italian striker (last pass through Tigre), Facundo Colidio or the chance of the return of Manuel Lanzini.
When asked about the loss of the squad, such as the possibility of selling Nicolás de la Cruz, the coach replied: “He is summoned to train and I understand that he is going to come. We are going to have him for the game on Thursday (against Talleres de Córdoba, for the Argentine Cup). ‘Nico’ will come, we’ll see what situation he is in and then we’ll see if I see him well for Thursday. I don’t think beyond”.
In the end, about the midfielder and captain Enzo Pérez, the coach said: “I told the players that the DNI does not scare me, there are players who can have better benefits at an advanced age, our duty as a coaching staff is to interpret those benefits “.
In this sense, Demichelis assured: “Enzo deservedly earned his place and he will be the one who says when he will leave this institution, the club, nor the coaching staff, nor the fans will say it. I see him training very well, he returned to his level, I see him enjoying and happy”, he concluded.
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