Marcelo Gallardo

Marcelo Gallardo
Personal information
Full name Marcelo Daniel Gallardo
Date of birth (1976-01-18) 18 January 1976
Place of birth Merlo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 River Plate (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1999 River Plate 109 (18)
1999–2002 Monaco 103 (18)
2002–2006 River Plate 132 (38)
2007–2008 Paris Saint-Germain 22 (2)
2008 D.C. United 15 (4)
2009–2010 River Plate 21 (7)
2010–2011 Nacional 12 (3)
Total 414 (90)
National team
1994–2003 Argentina 44 (13)
Teams managed
2011–2012 Nacional
2014– River Plate

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Marcelo Daniel Gallardo (born 18 January 1976) is a former Argentine footballer and current manager of River Plate.[1] He played as an attacking midfielder in the role of playmaker and represented Argentina in two FIFA World Cups.

Club career

Early years

Nicknamed El Muñeco (the doll) due to his small frame (169 cm, 70 kg), Gallardo started his football career back in 1992-93 season with River Plate and won 4 Argentinian Torneo de Apertura (93, 94, 96 and 97), 1 Argentinian Torneo de Clausura (1997) and 1 Copa Libertadores (1996).

His initial spell with los millonarios lasted until season 1998-99; by then he had played 109 league games for them and scored 18 goals.

Europe

In 1999, he was snapped up by Monaco. In his first season in Europe, Gallardo proved his worth and played 28 games, scoring 8 goals and formed lethal partnership with Ludovic Giuly in Midfield.

In the following season, Gallardo won his first Première Division and Trophée Des Champions with Monaco. As a team containing many big-name players such as Marco Simone, Fabien Barthez, Willy Sagnol, Martin Djetou, Pablo Contreras, Ludovic Giuly, Philippe Christanval, Rafael Márquez, Sabri Lamouchi, David Trezeguet, and John Arne Riise, Monaco enjoyed their success domestically and it was evident Gallardo was one of the star players, having won the French League Footballer of the Year that year.

However, in his third season, things did not go well off the pitch for Gallardo as he was not in good terms with his coach Didier Deschamps after being named on the bench midway through 2000-01 season. Following the examples of Panucci and Simone, Gallardo decided to leave Monaco at the end of the season.

Back to Argentina

After making 102 appearances and scoring 18 goals for Monaco, Gallardo returned to his old club River Plate as club captain, he helped them win another Clausura in 2004.

Back to France

Marcello Gallardo was bought by the Parisian club PSG for an undisclosed fee in January 2007. Paris Saint-Germain signed a two-year contract with Marcelo and made his debut in a 3-0 cup win against Nîmes on 7 January.

On 13 January 2007 he played his first Ligue 1 match for PSG against Valenciennes[2]

After spending only one season with the club, Gallardo terminated his contract, looking to move to Major League Soccer in the United States.[3]

Major League Soccer with D.C. United

On 29 January 2008 Gallardo was presented as the newest member of D.C. United. With a 2008 salary of $1.87 million, Gallardo is (still) the highest-paid player in United history and was its first Designated Player. Gallardo had the third-largest salary in MLS for 2008, behind English midfielder David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy ($6.5 million guaranteed) and Mexican forward Cuauhtémoc Blanco of the Chicago Fire ($2.67 million).[4] He scored his first league goal for United on 5 April 2008 against Toronto FC. On 17 and 19 July Gallardo underwent surgery for a sports hernia. In February 2009 he left D.C. United and returned for the third time to his old club River Plate.

Nacional

In 2010 he signed at Nacional de Montevideo in the Uruguayan League. On 12 June 2011, Gallardo played his last match winning the Uruguay Tournament making him one of the few players to win a championship or a league in every team that he played. He retired as a player, and was hired a few days later as new manager of Nacional, his first job as a football manager.

International career

Gallardo made his international debut for Argentina in 1994 against Chile and made 44 appearances and scored 13 goals.

He was also in the Argentina squad for the 1998 World Cup and 2002 World Cup.

Manager

Nacional

He won the 2011/2012 championship and left the club. He was assisted by Matías Biscay, Pablo Rodríguez and professor Marcelo Tulbovitz during his time at Nacional Montevideo.

River Plate

On June 6, 2014, Gallardo was presented as the new manager of River Plate following the controversial resign of Ramón Díaz on May 27.[5] Key players from the previous tournament, Carlos Carbonero, Manuel Lanzini, and Cristian Ledesma left the club, while players relegated by Ramón Díaz such as Carlos Sánchez and Rodrigo Mora returned. River Plate only bought two players: an attacking midfielder, Leonardo Pisculichi (who had been relegated to second division with Argentinos Juniors) and goalkeeper Julio Chiarini (from Instituto de Córdoba).

Gallardo's style of play was widely lauded by the Argentine press, with the team matching the club's all-time unbeaten record on November 9 with 32 undefeated games, losing to Estudiantes de La Plata three days later.[6] Out of the 32 games, 8 belonged to Ramón Díaz's tenure. River Plate led the Torneo de Transición for the better part, until Gallardo's team reached the Copa Sudamericana's semi-finals, where River would face rivals Boca Juniors. Planning to rest the players for the semi-finals, Gallardo played a substitute team against second-placed Racing Club, ultimately losing the match from an own goal by Ramiro Funes Mori.[7] Racing would go on to win its first championship since 2001 by two points over River Plate.

River eliminated Boca with a lone goal from Leonardo Pisculichi in the second leg played at the Monumental.[8] In the 2014 Copa Sudamericana Finals, Pisculichi scored once again to draw 1-1 against Atlético Nacional in the away leg at the Estadio Atanasio Girardot. Defenders Gabriel Mercado and Germán Pezzella, in the span of four minutes, scored with headers in the second leg at the Monumental, giving River Plate a 2-0 win and its first international title since 1997, remaining unbeaten in the competition. Marcelo Gallardo became the first River Plate player to win an international title both as a player and a coach.[9] Following the end of the game, Gallardo dedicated the win to his mother, who had died shortly before the second game against Boca Juniors.

In early 2015, Gallardo's River won the Recopa Sudamericana 2015 against Copa Libertadores 2014 champions San Lorenzo de Almagro, by beating them 1-0 at home in the first leg, then once again 1-0 in the second leg, both goals scored by Carlos Sánchez. Later, on March, River won another international title, this time being the friendly 2015 Supercopa Euroamericana against 2013-14 UEFA Europa League champions Sevilla FC. The one legged match took place at the Monumental. River won 1-0 with a goal from Juan Cruz Kaprof.

After a deficient group stage that nearly got the team out of the tournament, Gallardo's River advanced to the 2015 Copa Libertadores Round of 16 as the worst second placed team from the group stage, having to once again face rivals Boca Juniors, the best first placed team. River won the first leg at home 1-0 with a penalty kick from Carlos Sánchez. In the second leg played at La Bombonera, the teams had completed the first half drawing 0-0. Upon returning to the pitch to play the second half, River Plate's players were attacked by Boca Juniors' fans. After an hour of recess, the match was suspected by a South American Confederation of Soccer's official representative. According to Conmebol the match would be recorded 3-0 for River Plate, which resulted in River advancing to the tournament's quarter-finals.

Later on, the team reached the Libertadores final and played against Mexico's Tigres UANL. In the first leg at the Estadio Universitario, the game turned out scoreless. In the second leg played at the Monumental, River won 3-0 with goals from Lucas Alario, Carlos Sánchez and Ramiro Funes Mori.

The every next day, Gallardo's team travelled to Osaka, Japan, to play the 2015 Suruga Bank Championship against 2014 J. League Cup winners Gamba Osaka. The match resulted in a 3-0 victory for River Plate, earning the 4th official international title under Gallardo.

Later that year, after a weak finish at the 2015 Argentine Primera División tournament, River advanced to the semi-finals of the 2015 Copa Sudamericana to play against fellow Argentines Club Atlético Huracán. The two legged series resulted in a 1-0 loss for River in the first leg played at home, then a 2-2 draw in the second leg. This would mark Gallardo's first defeat at an international knockout stage as a coach.

At the year's end, River played the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup, beating Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-0 in the semi-finals with a goal from Lucas Alario. They would later lose the final against European champions Fútbol Club Barcelona by 3-0, with goals from Messi and Suárez (x2).

After the ending 2015 with a loss to European Power house. River Plate participated again in the Copa Libertadores 2016 as reigning Champion. After advancing to the Round of 16, it's eliminated ending their dream in Copa Libertadores. It was time to rebuild the team, since most of the players in the past campaigns were transferred to other continents. Gallardo got several international players in his 2016-roster as well.

In mid 2016, Gallardo's River won the Recopa Sudamericana 2016 against 2015 Copa Sudamericana champions Independiente Santa Fe, by beating them 1-0 at home in the second leg.

Marcelo Gallardo remains as the most successful coach at an international stage in the club's history, with a total of five official-international titles and one unofficial-international friendly won.

Playing style

He tended to play as a central playmaker. He is well known for his free kicks and corners, and he is also skillful in confrontation and possesses an intelligent footballing brain, although he is best known for his defense splitting passes.

National team statistics

Argentina national team
YearAppsGoals
199420
1995115
199600
199785
199890
199940
200021
200152
200210
200320
Total4413

Honours

Player

River Plate
Monaco
Paris Saint-Germain
D.C. United
Nacional
Argentina

Manager

Nacional
River Plate

Individual

References

  1. ↑ «Gallardo es el técnico»
  2. ↑ "Tactical Formation". Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved 5 February 2007.
  3. ↑ "Gallardo Leaning Towards MLS". Soccer365.com. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  4. ↑ Goff, Steven (4 April 2008). "Gallardo Is United's Highest-Paid Player Ever". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
  5. ↑ "Marcelo Gallardo presentado como nuevo técnico de River Plate" [Marcelo Gallardo presented as new manager of River Plate] (in Spanish). La Nación. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Por un error de Barovero, River perdió el invicto ante Estudiantes" [Due a mistake from Barovero, River lost the undefeated record against Estudiantes] (in Spanish). infobae. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Racing le ganó a River con una 'carambola', se subió a la punta del campeonato y podría consagrarse campeón el próximo domingo en Rosario" [Racing defeated River with a lucky goal, got in first place and could be crowned champion of the tournament the next Sunday in Rosario] (in Spanish). infobae. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "¡River a la final! El gol de Pisculichi le dio la clasificación frente a Boca, que falló un penal y jamás pudo encontrarle la vuelta al partido" [River to the final! Pisculichi's goal gave River the ticket to the final against Boca, which missed a penalty in the first minutes of the game and could never turn it around] (in Spanish). infobae. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "¡River campeón de la Copa Sudamericana!" [River champion of the Copa Sudamericana!] (in Spanish). mundoD. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
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