Copa Libertadores final: Back-to-back titles a perfect send-off for ´Barca bound´ River boss Gallard

A shot at the sporting immortality of back-to-back continental titles against a formidable opponent in the form of Flamengo.

River Plate face a Brazil v Argentina blockbuster in the first Copa Libertadores final to be staged as a one-off game – a change now mired in the logistical nightmare of moving the showpiece from Santiago to Lima at short notice.

Yet all of this is nothing to fear when compared to the bigger picture.

“All us River fans are scared that Marcelo Gallardo could leave,” midfielder Exequiel Palacios told Infobae.

“No one wants him to leave. We hope that he’ll stay for many more years and keep giving joy to River fans.”

Increasingly, for Palacios, his team-mates and a fervent fanbase, this looks like a forlorn hope.

Since returning to coach the club he represented across three spells as an attacking midfielder during his playing days, Gallardo has inspired one of the most successful periods in River’s decorated history.

Witheringly nicknamed Las Gallinas by sworn enemies Boca Juniors due to their reputation for choking on the big occasion, River have doubled their number of Libertadores triumphs under Gallardo’s leadership, from two to four.

Number four, of course, arrived unforgettably at Boca’s expense last season. River prevailed 5-3 on aggregate after a 3-1 extra-time win in the unfamiliar surroundings of the Santiago Bernabeu – the second leg of the final having been moved to Madrid after Boca’s team bus was attacked en route to El Monumental for the originally scheduled fixture.

If growing speculation is to be believed, it is LaLiga’s other major footballing coliseum where Gallardo might soon by plying his trade.

EL ABRAZO MÁS GRANDE DEL MUNDO  pic.twitter.com/ChNcuZXBh9

— River Plate (@RiverPlate) December 9, 2018

Barcelona bound?

“Gallardo will be coach of Barcelona in December,” former River midfielder and 1986 World Cup winner Claudio Borghi told TNT Sports this month, in comments unlikely to have been welcomed by under-fire Blaugrana boss Ernesto Valverde. “He is one of the best coaches in the world.

“[River Plate president Rodolfo] D’Onofrio said he’d only leave by quitting his post, but I know this from a direct source.”

Irrespective of the veracity of Borghi’s information, while acknowledging the man himself has sought to quell the rumours, the prospect of Gallardo landing another of the biggest jobs in world football is compelling.

His record on the big occasion is outstanding, as evidenced by the 11 trophies lifted during his tenure.

A directive from the River board to focus on continental success has been carried out to the letter, with the 2014 Copa Sudamericana and three Recopas Sudamericana sitting alongside the 2015 and 2018 Libertadores.

This return has come amid a huge turnover in playing staff – a long-accepted reality for South American teams turning out high-quality football before the prying eyes of European scouts.

Of the side that won the 2015 Libertadores, only Leonardo Ponzio, Jonatan Maidana, Gonzalo Martinez, Camilo Mayada and Rodrigo Mora remained among the squad that tasted glory in Madrid. The Camp Nou powerbrokers would do well to spot Gallardo’s astute ability to rebuild, given their uneven and expensive record in the transfer market over recent years.

Boca would certainly be delighted to see the back of him. The ultimately futile 1-0 win in this season’s Libertadores semi-final second leg at La Bombonera, after going down 2-0 in the initial match, was their first in seven Superclasicos.

Gallardo’s shrewd tactical flexibility was to the fore during last season’s final, with a switch from his favoured and fluid 4-4-2 to a back three for the away leg providing extra width that Boca struggled to deal with.

Injuries in attack forced him into a 4-5-1 for the return, but slick combination play and the feature of midfield runners supplementing the attack remained in fine working order on River’s night of nights.

#JuntosSomosMásGrandes pic.twitter.com/rDhQr5BzaJ

— River Plate (@RiverPlate) December 9, 2018

Admired by Guardiola and Messi

“What Gallardo has done is unbelievable. He gives them consistency year after year, even though they lose players,” Pep Guardiola told TNT last month.

“I don’t understand how he’s never nominated for manager of the year. It’s as if only Europe exists.”

That seal of approval from a Barcelona great comes alongside a potentially more significant one from Lionel Messi, who included Gallardo behind Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino in his top three when voting for the 2019 Best FIFA Men’s Coach award.

Of course, Barcelona have gone down the route of appointing a coach from Messi’s homeland fairly recently and his fellow Rosario native Gerardo Martino finished the 2013-14 season without a major trophy or his job.

An acclimatisation process would be necessary, not least in terms of week-in, week-out combat in LaLiga. River’s superb recent Libertadores record has come at the expense of seriously competing for the Superliga. Key men are routinely rested either side of major knockout matches and their last league success was in 2014, immediately before Gallardo’s arrival.

There would be these and more questions to answer. If he is able to see off Flamengo and lift the third Copa Libertadores of his coaching career, the chances of Gallardo having to provide the answers might increase considerably.