The news of the departure of Marcelo Gallardo from the ranks of River Plate after eight and a half years at the club hit hard each of the Colombians that the ‘Muñeco’ has been able to direct. Six coffee growers have passed under his orders, including two that are currently managed by the former midfielder: Juan Fernando Quintero and Miguel Ángel Borja.
Apart from Juan Fernando Quintero, who did not hide his tears in the strategist’s farewell match at the Monumental de Núñez, and Miguel Ángel Borja, Éder Álvarez Balanta, Teófilo Gutiérrez, Jorge Carrascal and Rafael Santos Borré also worked with Marcelo Gallardo, Santos Borré He remained the scorer in the Marcelo era in the technical direction with 55 points, and the one who was closest was Julián Álvarez with only one score.
Of course, everyone who was directed by Marcelo Gallardo must hit that news hard, but perhaps for Rafael Santos Borré, his 55 goals and his six titles, becoming the Colombian with the most trophies under Gallardo’s reins must be sadder, and more when he is away from the coach.
And it is that, for Rafael Santos Borré he was like a ‘father’, because Marcelo Gallardo trusted the Colombian attacker after having played for Villarreal in Spain and not having been downplayed with much youth. River Plate and Gallardo took care of the evolution of Santos Borré and took it easy until he exploded with 55 goals in 149 games played. In turn, those presentations led him to be summoned to the Colombian National Team and jump to Eintracht Frankfurt.
The great hero of the Uefa Europa League left a heartfelt message for Marcelo Gallardo, which was published by Diario Marca. Anyone bristles at the great words and respect that Rafael Santos Borré shows his former coach. “Marcelo Gallardo for me was a coach of the most important in my career, if not the most important, because he received me at a crucial moment in my career, in which he was either going to boost me a lot or to lose much more the confidence that he had not had. in my first step in Europe”, he began by saying.
He added, “I think he used the media and the ideal message to reach me and to reach a group of players in which he identified perfectly with his ideas and also identified with his style of watching football, of seeing life, to enjoy this sport and assimilate every circumstance. I think that this type of person, these types of coaches make a big difference in your career, they make a big difference in your life and, for me, that is what most caught my attention about Marcelo”.
He continued, “despite being a coach who perfected me a lot as a player, who strengthened me and taught me many things, I believe that the fundamental task of a coach is to teach the player many things or fill him with many concepts to improve him. I feel that he also gave me an ideal on how to live this sport, on how to deal with it and on how to know how to cope with all the situations that football entails”.
