River Plate coach Martín Demichelis, who this Saturday obtained his first title as a ‘millionaire’ coach by winning the Argentine League, he explained this Monday at a press conference that he had the necessary “security” when he took office.
“I understood that if River decided for us, it was the moment, because I had invested a lot of time in training and I felt confident in assuming the position,” said ‘Micho’, named in November 2020 as the successor to the most successful coach in the club’s history, Marcelo Gallardo.
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Asked about ‘el Muñeco’, the former Bayern Munich, Málaga and Manchester City player, among others, commented on the “similarities with River’s history” and pointed out that, despite the ambiguity of his response, “it is not demagogy”.
“River is family, it was demonstrated in the festivities”, argued in reference to the celebration of the title in the Más Monumental Stadium last Saturday, after beating Estudiantes 3-1, before their fans two days before the end of the Argentine championship.
In the list of legendary River technicians
‘Micho’ cited great names from ‘millionaire’ history, such as Ariel Ortega, Leo Astrada, Enzo Francescoli, Amadeo Carrizo, Ramón Díaz, Omar Labruna and Ubaldo Matildo Fillol as a line of “continuity” to which he also belongs.
“We are never going to resign what this story demands, which is to be protagonists. It can turn out better or worse, but we are going to resign ourselves to being protagonists in tournaments, on all courts we are not going to put it up for debate,” said the Argentine coach.
Ramón Díaz and Pellegrini, references
Regarding proper names, Demichelis also had time to remember the technicians with whom he worked and who inspired him in his career, among whom he cited Ramón Díaz – of whom, he said, “trusted” him and gave him “the chance to grow as a professional footballer” – and Manuel Pellegrini.
Of the Chilean, with whom he worked at River Plate, at Malaga and at City, he summed up that he was “the most important coach” of his career, for the seven years he shared with him.
To the River bench without experience
When he arrived at River Plate, in November 2022, Demichelis had only directed the Bayern Munich subsidiary -a team in which he triumphed as a footballer- and had been an assistant on the Málaga bench.
‘Micho’ was a player of the ‘millionaire’ team between 2001 and 2003 before signing for Bayern, with which he won four Bundesliga titles (2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009), among other local championships.
With Málaga he lived great sporting moments before signing for Manchester City, where with Pellegrini back in charge, he won the Premier League (2014), and returned to Spanish football before announcing his retirement from professional football after 550 games and 32 goals.
And now the Cup
Demichelis appeared this Monday at a press conference with his entire coaching staff at River Camp, the sports venue of the “millionaire” club in Ezeiza (Buenos Aires province), after proclaiming himself champion of the Argentine League with two dates in advance and with a view to the cup duel on Thursday against Talleres in the 1/16 final.
