The 2016-17 season was a good one for Argentinian coaches in Europe. Mauricio Pochettino steered Tottenham Hotspur to second in the Premier League, Diego Simeone and Jorge Sampaoli each led their sides to top-four finishes in Spain, while Eduardo Berizzo and Mauricio Pellegrino enjoyed strong cup runs at Celta Vigo and Alaves respectively.
The search is now on for the country’s next hot coaching prospect, and in Latin America there are two whose successes to date, playing career experience and team-building smarts suggest that they too could make a splash in Europe: Matias Almeyda and Marcelo Gallardo.
Almeyda’s first coaching position came in 2011 at the helm of a River Plate side who had just been relegated from the Primera Division for the first time in their history. He achieved the immediate target by leading them back to the top-flight at the first attempt but even he now admits that shortcuts were to taken to achieve results in a highly pressurised environment.
It was only at his second job, Banfield, that Almeyda really felt he had the necessary space to implement his favoured approach. It was there that he developed the methods that have served him so well since joining Mexican giants Chivas in 2015.
The former Argentina international midfielder stepped into a difficult situation, at a club whose variety of institutional and on-pitch problems had left them bereft of silverware and in danger of relegation. There were some early struggles but his clear communication, well-defined playing style based around taking the initiative in every match and strong personal relationship with his squad soon yielded on-field improvements.
Chivas won the Copa MX trophy in 2015 and in May ended an 11-year league title drought by defeating Tigres to complete a league and cup double.
The 43-year-old has control of more than just the first team and while European clubs have shown interest, he has said that he will await a project as attractive as the one he is overseeing at Chivas before making the jump. Another successful season in Mexico could be enough to convince a European club to offer Almeyda just that next summer.
Gallardo played alongside Almeyda at River Plate but has dealt better with the pressure that comes with being their head coach. Even in an era in which riches elsewhere mean key players regularly depart, expectations remain the same: River must win trophies.
On that criteria, Gallardo has excelled. His side won the Copa Sudamericana in 2014, the Copa Libertadores in 2015 and the Copa Argentina in 2016, amongst various Super Cups. They have played attractive football at times but the key component has always been their ability to scrap for results and largely hold their nerve in high-pressure situations.
The 41-year-old, who also won a Uruguayan league title with Nacional prior to joining River, has shown himself to be tactically flexible, while his use of a psychologist as an integral part of his coaching staff displays a willingness to embrace new ideas. A football obsessive and workaholic, he lives in constant search of a winning formula.
Gallardo’s contract runs out at the end of the calendar year, and any team seeking a results-orientated coach for the second half of the campaign could do much worse than look his way.
