Argentine coach Marcelo Gallardo, without a team since he said goodbye to River Plate last November, will lead a friendly match between two world stars: his compatriot Lionel Messi and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo.
‘Muñeco’ himself was in charge of announcing his return to the courts -even for one day, on January 19- through a video shared on social networks.
Marcelo Gallardo will be the coach in the friendly of the team made up of players from Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr against PSG.
He will manage Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Messi, Neymar and Mbappe. ??
– Pablo Giralt (@giraltpablo) January 5, 2023
“Hello, I am Marcelo Gallardo and I want to tell you that On January 19 I will lead the Riyadh Season, which will be made up of players from Al Hilal and Al Nassr versus Paris Saint Germain. See you there soon”, was Gallardo’s brief address.
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The most successful coach in the history of River Plate, with 14 titles in eight and a half years at the head of the ‘millionaire’ bench, will lead a team made up of members of the two most important clubs in Saudi Arabiaone of which, Al Nassr, just hired Ronaldo after his departure from English Manchester United.
In front, there will be Messi’s Paris Saint Germain, who will play this duel just a month after proclaiming himself world champion with the Argentina team.
The rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo, two of the dominators of world football in recent years, with seven and five Ballon d’Ors, respectively, was maximum during the nine seasons that coincided in the Spanish Leaguewith the Argentine as leader of FC Barcelona (2004-2021) and the Portuguese of Real Madrid (2009-2018).
This will be Gallardo’s first experience on the bench after leaving the club of his loves at the end of 2022.
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On November 13, he led his last match with the ‘millionaires’, which ended with a 4-0 win over Betis -by Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, another former River-, in Mendoza (western Argentina).
Minutes before the start of the match, Gallardo was honored in the center of the field and received an ovation from the entire stadium.
Javier Pinola, then captain of the River Plate team, also retired in that game, and today he is assistant to the new coach, Martín Demichelis, on the ‘millionaire’ bench.
With the ‘Doll’ on the benchRiver Plate won the 2014 Copa Sudamericana, the 2015, 2016 and 2019 Recopa Sudamericana, the Copa Sudamericana Libertadores of 2015 and 2018, the 2015 Suruga Bank Cup, the 2016, 2017 and 2019 Argentine Cup, the 2017 and 2019 Argentine Super Cup, the 2021 Professional League and the 2021 Champions Trophy.
