Why your club should be looking to appoint Marcelo Gallardo
This one goes out to all the club's looking for a new manager this summer.
If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know my deep love for the manager Marcelo Gallardo and with that in mind, you’ve probably been expecting this article for a while.
Last year, Gallardo called time on his time as manager of the Argentinian club River Plate. He ended his time at Estadio Mâs Monumental as the most successful coach in the club’s history, winning 14 titles and South American Coach of the Year three times in a row between 2018-2020.
He has been lauded by the likes of Lionel Messi, who once placed him in his nominations for the Manager of the Year and Pep Guardiola. The latter told the media:
"What Gallardo has done with River is incredible. Some things are inexplicable. Every year three coaches are named as the best in the world, and he's never among them. I can't understand it. It's as if there's nothing else in the world apart from Europe."
Gallardo is now looking for his next challenge and like Diego Simeone before him, he likely wants to move across the water to Europe to find it.
So here’s my plea to any mid to top-level team looking for a new manager this summer - you should be trying to appoint Marcelo Gallardo.
He’s a free agent after his contract with River expired, which is always a plus, but he is also an incredibly talented coach who can help your club create a sporting project that is truly special.
So just why is this the case?
Now this isn’t the first time I’ve spoken about Marcelo Gallardo’s tactics or managerial style. When I was still writing for the Manchester Evening News I stated the following:
“If you were to ask me what would a Gallardo team look like, I don't think I could tell you with a degree of certainty. During his time at River he's played a 4-3-1-2 which has evolved into a 4-4-2 but then at times has become a 4-2-3-1, a 4-2-2-2, and multiple variations of a 4-3-3 and a 3-5-2 (and there's probably more I can't think of off the top of my head).
“That's a lot of different formations you're probably thinking, doesn't that show that he can't settle on one? But that is, in fact, a good thing. It shows that he can adapt his tactics to match the personnel he has available or at the club at any given time. He has been known to change formations from game to game, in order to make tactical tweaks to combat the opposition's strengths and exploit their weaknesses.”
Now when I wrote that description I had two managers in mind to compare him to. The issue is that in the past few months, both those managers have been sacked by their clubs - Julian Nagelsmann and Graham Potter.
Their employment status aside, what these managers showed was an ability to adapt their lineups and formations on a game-by-game basis while still keeping their identity and fundamentals alive and visible.
Gallardo’s style focuses on having a strong foundation and then building from there. If he is appointed as the manager of any club this will be the first thing that fans notice.
Gallardo often uses the word “protagonismo” to describe his style. You write your own story; you dictate the game.
The team must be solid on and off the ball. Gallardo’s team employ counter-pressing which of course starts with the front line, but if the opposition can beat this, then the aim is to force them into less dangerous areas with clever positioning and traps.
Once Gallardo’s teams have regained possession, the aim is to hold onto it and not lose it unnecessarily. They do this by creating overloads; on the wings in wide formations and through the middle in narrower ones.
Of course, this flexibility means that he can walk into any situation and work with it as long as the players are willing to buy in (here’s looking at you Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur), though Gallardo has made it clear that although his style suits multiple situations, he will not just join ‘any club’, as he made clear in an interview with The Athletic:
“I’m not the kind of person who will just join any old club because I want to coach in Europe. That’s not my way of operating.
“I need to find a place that makes me feel something. I need a sense of identification. If I don’t get that, I have no problem continuing with what I’m doing now.”
The Athletic article on Gallardo is great by the way, and you can read it here. It covers a lot about the 47-year-old Argentinian manager.
But it isn’t just about how he sets up his team before a game starts. A great protagonist doesn’t set out on a path and see it through to the end with no adversity, they have to adapt to the situation as it happens.
Gallardo does this with his substitutes and he is often seen on the sidelines giving detailed tactical instructions to his players before they come on. TYC Sports posted a clip to Twitter (I would link it but thanks Elon) in July 2019 where Gallardo was filmed saying the following:
“Benjamin, we’re going to go 4-3-3 and put you on the right, Nico on the left. When you see him free, switch the ball, and come inside to finish the move.”
Five minutes later, River scored a goal exactly in the way he described.
Something should be said about the simplicity with which he delivered this information. This could show the quality of the players, but it is more likely comes that most of the hard work is done in training and it has put both the team and the manager on the same wavelength.
Gallardo is not a manager who slaps his team on the back and says ‘You know the gameplan, go out and have fun’ and then sits on the bench hoping it works; he is constantly analysing and formulating strategies to help him change the course of a game as it happens.
To return to The Athletic article one more time, I did enjoy how they spoke about the journalists’ nickname for him back at River Plate - Napoleon1. This is due to how he can inspire almost anyone to his cause like a military leader of legend.
To use another quote in the article from the man himself, he spoke about how he handles his squad quite poetically:
“I don’t consider myself to be a friend of the players, but I don’t consider myself to be an authoritarian manager either. Today, a coach has to have a bit of everything. You have to have a bit of paternalism, a bit of distance, a bit of psychology. After that, you have to be able to coach — tactics and strategy — and communicate your message so that it’s clear.
“The fundamental thing is understanding people. You have to understand the person in order to get the best out of them as a footballer.”
I can’t think of a better example of this than his 2-1 win in the Copa Libertadores over Independiente Santa Fe back in 2021.
Not to invoke its name again, but a COVID-19 outbreak hit the team hard ahead of the important match. This left them with only 11 senior players to work with and absolutely no goalkeepers.
This sort of situation would cause most teams to crumble and falter, but not River Plate. Up stepped 34-year-old Enzo Perez, who despite carrying an injury but in a historic performance to see his team through.
On a separate note, it is a testament to his coaching and man management how versatile his players can be. Obviously, Perez playing in net is an extreme and non-recurring example, but it is common for his players to slot into different roles as needed and be comfortable in them regardless.
During his time in Argentina, Enzo Fernandez, who currently is impressing in a defensive midfield role for Chelsea, played multiple positions in central midfield (including as a 10 which is not displayed here) and out wide as well.
There are no brick walls that Gallardo can not encourage his team to run through and they would do it even if both their legs were broken, and the way he’s coached them means that he is not dropping them in the deep end when he asks them to do it.
Of course, any club that brings Gallardo in will likely give him a decent to sizeable budget (again looking at you Chelsea), but there will also be an expectation for him to work with some of the pieces he has.
We have already spoken about the performances he can draw out of the members of his squad, but something he is also incredible at doing is utilising the academy.
When Gallardo was heavily linked with a move to Barcelona a few years back, one of the incentives that River Plate gave him to stay was that he basically became head of the academy alongside managing the first team.
This wasn’t just an honorary title, River Plate believed that this was the best decision for the club and the project under Gallardo due to the number of players that the manager had promoted during his time in the dugout.
As of 2020 when the decision was made he had promoted 30 players from the academy to the first team, with many making a move to Europe in the same period including the likes of Giovanni Simeone (Diego’s son) Manuel Lanzini, Gonzalo Montiel and Ezequiel Palacios, who moved to Bayer Leverkusen.
However the two crown jewels of his youth project earned their move this summer, with Julian Alvarez joining Manchester City and Enzo Fernandez moving to Benfica, the latter then moving to Chelsea less than six months later for around £100m.2
Both of these players embody the archetypes that Gallardo tries to mould - hard working, technically secure, locked in and easily integrated into different systems.
So after eight and half years, Gallardo has moved on from River Plate and River Plate have moved on from him, appointing former Bayern Munich, Malaga and Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis as manager.
But where next for the 47-year-old? What club fits the bill?
Before we get started with some options, I want to say if Brendan Rodgers gets another job before Gallardo, I will probably throw several things in anger.
I have mentioned both Chelsea and Tottenham already and I feel like he’d be a good fit for either. Both clubs are trying to rebuild themselves from the ground up (Chelsea admittedly have already spent £600m but they haven’t decided on a direction yet) and Gallardo would be perfect to oversee that.
However, Chelsea seems to be moving for Gallardo’s compatriot Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham seem set on trying to bring in either the aforementioned Nagelsmann or Arne Slot from Feyenoord.
Staying within the Premier League, a wildcard option could be West Ham if they decide to part ways with David Moyes (I think they should). If the Irons win the UEFA Conference League they will have a European place and the finances needed to bounce back from this poor season and if they are feeling ambitious, they could look to appoint Gallardo3.
Moving abroad, everything points to Inter Milan looking for a manager to replace Simone Inzaghi this summer, but they will likely bring in former player Thiago Motta to oversee their rebuild.
In the past, when I considered which European team could be his eventual destination, I always saw Sevilla as the ideal club for Gallardo to move to once he left Argentina, due to the club’s existing links with the country.
They have completely collapsed this season but luckily it seems like they will remain in La Liga as they’re 8 points above Valencia in 18th. After sacking his fellow countryman Jorge Sampaoli earlier this year they could decide to replace him with Gallardo.
On the other hand, he could dream a lot bigger. It seems like Simeone’s chapter at Atletico Madrid is coming to its end and given how much the manager has shaped that club, his departure will spark the need for a cultural and structural rebuild. Of all the clubs mentioned here, I think Atletico post-Simeone is the perfect club for Gallardo to join (if he is given time).
Finally, there is Paris Saint-Germain. For many reasons, on and off the pitch, I doubt that Christophe Galtier will be in the dugout for the Parisiens next season and as a former player, Gallardo could be someone they turn to as they look to finally win the Champions League while also regaining stability in Ligue 1.
I think the question in this scenario is does Gallardo want to become part of the circus in the French capital? He may think ‘I can fix them’ but personally I would be avoiding PSG like the plague, especially since this will be his first job in Europe and he needs to secure his reputation.
Whether it’s one of these options or another, Gallardo should be on the shortlist for any club looking for a new manager this summer and hopefully he will get a job befitting his abilities shortly.
Whichever dugout he ends up in, I don’t this will be the last time I write a newsletter praising him.
He is also known as ‘El Muneco’ (The Doll) from his playing days.
The sell-on clause that was involved in the deal to sell Enzo Fernandez to Benfica pocket River a pretty penny when he was sold on to Chelsea.
Obviously, if they get relegated this becomes a moot point, but they have the funding to be in a better league position than they are and a talented squad to work with.