“He taught us about values and football.” That phrase/concept was uttered by multiple players and coaches in the last hours, since the death of Miguel Angel Russomuch, much more than the current technician of Mouth…
The last coach who won champions left at the age of 69. Mouth of the Copa Libertadores, in 2007, with a Juan Roman Riquelme fabulous, with a Roman that when he was leader he summoned him twice to lead the xeneizes again. There was typical father-son love between Miguel and Roman. It was noticeable. So much so that the last call of the mythical 10 was not understood very much considering the physical fragility that was already noticeable in him. Russo in Saint Lawrence.
The last coach who led the team left Iker Muniain. He did it in Saint Lawrence. Immediately Miguel He gave him the captain’s ribbon. He hugged him. In a club full of conflicts, even the least imagined, Miguel and Iker They walked hand in hand. And they were there to win a title: they reached the semifinals.
Miguel Ángel Russo, with Juan Román Riquelme
He was the only coach in the history of Argentine football to become champion with 5 different First and Second Division teams. He celebrated in Second with Lanus in the 1991-1992 season and with Students in 1994-1995. And in Primera he did it with Velez at the Clausura 2005 and with Mouth in the Libertadores 2007, Superliga 2019-2020 and Copa Maradona 2020. In turn with Central Rosary He obtained promotion in 2012-2013 and the recent League Cup 2023. He had a brief time in Spain16 games in charge of the Salamanca in 1998-1999.
Russo, with the 2007 Copa Libertadores won with Boca (AP Photo/Marcelo Hernandez, File)
He left a coach respected everywhere, but adored in Central Rosarywhere he had five cycles between 1997 and 2024, with a record apart from the two titles he won: he never lost a Rosario classic against Newell’s, duel in which he won 7 games and tied 5. The blue and yellow half of Rosario loves him. And he loves that club and that city.
He left too a more than loved man in Estudiantes de La Plata. He was born there as a footballer and it was the only club where he played: no less than 435 shorts games, with 11 goals and 2 titles. Then, as a coach, he promoted Pincha to the First Division with an unforgettable team.
Russo, in April 2024, when he directed Rosario Central Photo by Pedro Vilela/Getty Images)
The only thing missing was the National Team. As a player he could have been world champion in Mexico 86, but Carlos Bilardo He was removed from the final list even though he had gone through the entire qualifying round. Later he stayed at the door twice as a coach. A detail in the middle of such a trajectory.
Miguel He fought cancer since 2017. And he chose to do it by working in football, enjoying his role as a coach. “I want to die on a field,” he repeated a couple of times. And so it was. He flew to heaven as a coach Mouthafter having directed it in nothing less than a Club World Cup. The highest honor.
In the fight against this cruel disease, he suffered logical relapses in the different stages of chemotherapy that he had to go through. From the last one it came out noticeably deteriorated. And he couldn’t attend several training sessions. for a couple of hospitalizations. Until at the end of last week it became known that his condition was more than complicated.
I already felt like I couldn’t take it anymore. And he refused to be hospitalized again. He preferred to spend his last days at home, with his family. It was reported from those around him that on Saturday he asked his daughters to invite several of his closest friends because he wanted to greet them. He was beginning to say goodbye… On Tuesday Mouth issued the first statement about his health. It was the pre-announcement of the news that no one wanted to receive. In all the television programs they rehearsed tributes that sounded like obituaries in bad taste. And on Wednesday evening (early morning Spanish time), the confirmation of his death.
Mouth and Central They posted photos of their stadiums in darkness, with the trophies won by Russo and the image of Miguel on the giant screens. There were reactions of pain and respect from the entire world of football, not only from the clubs where he played and coached. This Thursday there will be the wake at La Bombonera, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. And it will continue on Friday from 10 to 12. All respecting family privacy, without photos, without filming.
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Miguel Angel Russo He was everyone’s due to his respect and his immense ability to dribble and manage conflict situations. In the hottest instances, he resolved everything with a neutral phrase: “These are moments, they are decisions”… Thus, with that style, he built his life and his career. He died as a coach Mouth. As he wanted. You will never forget it.
