Marcelo Gallardo is one of the highly-respected and most-in-demand football managers in the world today. He has drawn praise from well-respected coaches including Pep Guardiola for his unique and fluid style of play.
Gallardo started his career in football as a player and graduated to a very successful career as a manager. Presently, he is the most successful coach in River Plate’s history. Here are some interesting facts about Marcelo Gallardo.
Intriguing Facts About Marcelo Gallardo
Where was he born?
Marcelo Gallardo was born in Merlo, Bueno’s Aires, Argentina on the 18th of January 1976. He was born to a mother called Ana María Maidana and a father identified as Máximo Gallardo. It is not certain if he has any siblings with whom he grew up.
Is he married?
Gallardo is now a married man. The football manager had an on and off relationship with Geraldine La Rosa before marrying her on the 19th of December 1997.
Between them, they have four children: Nahuel Gallardo (b. 1998), Matias Gallardo (b. 2004), Santino Gallardo (b. 2006), Benjamin Gallardo (b. 2019).
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Gallardo’s career as a footballer
Gallardo started his football career in the 1992/1993 season with River Plate. He played as an attacking midfielder and won 4 Argentinian Torneo de Apertura, 1 Copa Libertadores, and 1 Argentinian Torneo de Clausura with the club.
He went ahead to play for Monaco in Europe, Paris Saint-Germain in France, D.C. United and also Nacional in the Uruguayan league winning several leagues and titles along the way. He had a very robust and successful career as a player which has influenced his successful coaching career.
His transition to becoming a manager
Gallardo started his career as a manager with Nacional where he won the 2011-2012 championship. He won the hearts of the fans with his thoughtfulness and tactical executions. He finally left the club soon after winning the championship.
During his time at Nacional Montevideo, Gallardo was assisted in his coaching duties by Matías Biscay, Pablo Rodríguez and professor Marcelo Tulbovitz.
He is considered the greatest coach in River Plate’s history
After leaving Nacional, Marcelo Gallardo became the manager of River Plate. He was presented as River Plate manager in June 2014 and there has been no looking back for him.
Gallardo has received several honors as a player and also manager. The majority of his career-high point as a player and manager has been with River Plate. As a manager, he has won two Copa Libertadores, three Recopas, two Copa Argentinas, one Copa Sudamericana, one Supercopa Argentina, and one Suruga Bank trophy. He wins a major trophy every six months. In 2018, he was named South American ‘Coach of the Year).
His achievements with River Plate has made many people dub him as the greatest coach in the history of the club.
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Are his children into football?
The eldest of his children Nahuel seem to have followed the footstep of his father. He plays as a defender for Defensa y Justica on loan from River Plate.
What is Gallardo’s coaching style?
Gallardo has been praised for his style of play. He combines an intense attacking philosophy with flexibility and foresight to adapt his game plans on the fly. He isn’t shy of surprising the opposition with last-minute tactical changes.
He is nicknamed Napoleon by fans due to his stature and inspirational leadership.
Pep Guardiola is one of the admirers of Gallardo and wonders why he has never been nominated among the best coaches in the world. He has delivered consistently year after year and has stayed put building the club even as players leave.
Gallardo is a holistic and dynamic thinker. To prepare his players for the game and guarantee the best results, he has employed sports psychologists and neuroscientists to help his players visualize what to do in certain situations.
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Gallardo believes in promoting the next generation.
He believes in building up a club by looking inwards. Under his management, more than 30 players from the River Plate’s Academy have made their 1st team debut and are doing very well on the pitch.
The people who influenced Marcelo Gallardo as a coach
Gallardo has admitted that Marcelo Bielsa, an Argentine professional football manager, and former player has influenced him as a coach.
According to Gallardo, listening to Marcelo Bielsa had a positive influence on him. Initially, he thought good teams started with good players coming together and things just happened but Bielsa opened his eyes and mind to the influence a coach could have on a team.
The Argentine Superliga might be his biggest weakness at River Plate
Despite his various wins with River Plate and having won the league twice with Nacional, he is yet to have that win with River Plate. He has come 2nd, 4th, 8th, and 9th in the past 5 seasons.
Will Marcelo Gallardo Become Barca’s Next Coach?
There have been a lot of rumors over the years linking Marcelo Gallardo with a move to Spanish club, Barcelona. It will be recalled that when former Barcelona coach, Ernesto Valverde was made the manager, he came under fire for his conservative playing style and poor results especially for his failure to win the Champions League.
Barcelona soon parted ways with Valverde but before that happened, there were lots of rumors that Gallardo will become the next coach after Valverde. The rumors became so much that Gallardo had to come out to dispute them, claiming that he had not received any invitation from Barcelona and that he was focused on his job at River Plate.
Eventually, Quique Setién, a Spanish former professional footballer was appointed Barcelona coach. However, many fans have already begun to find problems with Setién’s style with some asking that Gallardo be made coach instead. Will this materialize in the near future? Time will tell.
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