Riyadh star team manager, and Messi embraced Gallardo is "South American Pep Guardiola"?

After the star league between Paris and Riyadh, Messi smiled and walked in the direction of the opposing manager, and then the two hugged each other warmly, shushing and warming, and the warmth of the scene was like a pair of old friends who had not seen each other for a long time to reunite in a strange distant place.

The Argentine compatriot, who is close to Messi, has a long history, and to some extent, the identity of Riyadh Star United manager overshadows his famous name. He is not only Messi's predecessor and former Argentina international, who has played twice in the World Cup with the Pampas Eagles, but also the legendary manager of the Aliga giants River Plate, who led River Plate to achieve a great task of revival during his tenure.

He is the "Babyface" known as the "Argentine Pep Guardiola" - Gallardo (Ronilson Donizetti Galiardo).

River Plate 10

On January 18, 1976, Gallardo was born in Merlot City, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, by chance, 8-year-old he met football, and soon showed far more athletic talent than children of the same age, Argentina's old giants River Plate has a keen eye for gold, valued the talented Gallardo, after the tempering of the youth team, at the age of 18, Gallardo was officially promoted to the River Plate first team.

Debuting professionally, Gallardo "newborn calves are not afraid of tigers", daring and creative on the field, his dazzling skills and imaginative artistic sense conquered the then coach Passarella, under the careful cultivation of the latter, the young Gallardo gradually entered the best situation, from a fledgling young player to a core of midfield, and the performance was overwhelming, Gallardo received a valuable and well-deserved gift - River Plate No. 10 shirt.

At that time, River Plate was full of talent and stars, and beside the midfield master Gallardo, there were also first-line superstars such as Crespo, Aimar and Ortega, and it was this group of talented players who formed a Latin American master's division. Since the 90s, Gallardo has followed River Plate to the feat of winning six league titles, and in 1996 dominated South America, lifting the Copa Libertadores trophy high, which is another decade later, River Plate has once again reached the peak of the South American "pyramid".

After winning the "Grand Slam", Gallardo moved to Europe, moving to Ligue 1 powerhouse Monaco for $8 million, continuing to shine on another big stage in world football. Three years later, Gallardo returned to River Plate, and the number 10 shirt, which had not yet rusted, welcomed back the owner. In 2006, Gallardo joined Paris Saint-Germain in France for the second time, and two seasons later joined Major League Clubs in Washington, D.C., two seasons later.

Gallardo's national team career began in 1994, when "mentor" Pazarella was the manager of the Argentina team, wearing a blue and white shirt, Gallardo still did not change his "magical" nature, dancing like a genie on the court, and his outstanding performance helped him gain a foothold in the national team, and participated in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.

Champion coach

After retiring from football, Gallardo began his coaching career, starting with the Uruguayan League Nationals team, and in June 2014, Gallardo set sail for the next and first leg of his coaching career - River Plate.

With the increasing brain drain of the South American league and the "arch-rival" Boca youth, the riverbed of the new era is a little older than it was two decades ago. Gallardo, who returned to coaching as a club and national team, has only one goal, that is, to lead his old club to a comeback and restore glory.

After a long and unremitting struggle day and night, "rookie" coach Gallardo lived up to expectations and fulfilled his seemingly ethereal promise in front of everyone. In a highlight of the 2021 A-League season, River Plate beat Athletic 4-0 to win the league title three rounds early, and after seven years, River Plate regained the throne under Gallardo.

So far, River Plate has led the All-Time League's league league charts with 37 league titles, leaving the "arch-rival" Boca youth behind ruthlessly. It is worth mentioning that Gallardo's River Plate also knocked down Boca Juniors in the final of the last two-legged Copa Libertadores final, positively declaring the inviolability of the solemn "ancient giant".

Now Gallardo is only 47 years old, and he was still a potential young coach who just picked up the River Plate whip eight years ago, and now with the "yellow robe added", he has become a champion coach in South America and even the world.

In his eight years in charge of River Plate, Gallardo has led the team to an incredible 14 trophies, including 2 Copa Libertadores, 2 Copa Sudamericana, 3 Copa Argentina, 3 Super Cups, 2 Argentine Super Cups, and 1 Argentine Super League Cup in addition to the 2021 La Liga title.

Speaking about the big harvest of the championship, Gallardo said: "We have always been worthy winners, we were not complacent when we won, we have always tried to be ourselves. ”

"South American Pep Guardiola"

With an innocent baby face, Gallardo was nicknamed "South American Ole Gunnar Solskjaer", but in fact the Argentine coach is a big fan of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, and his pass-control and pressing style is in the same vein as the Spaniard, daring to innovate, promote young players, and unpredictable style, which is also the same as Gua Shuai.

Gallardo's former disciple, Alvarez, who now lives under Guardiola, compares the two teachers this way: "It's clear that they are different, but they also have a lot in common. ”

In an interview about the "successor" Gallardo, Guardiola said: "With a lot of player mobility, he can still keep the team at a very high standard of play year after year... I don't understand why he wasn't nominated for FIFA's Coach of the Year. ”

With his outstanding achievements, gorgeous style and personable image, Gallardo is not only famous in South American football, the reputation of the "godfather" of River Plate has spread to all corners of European football, and many giants regard the Argentine young coach as a "treasure map", once it is in hand, it is not difficult to cash in gold.

Barca were interested in hiring Gallardo to save the situation when Valverde was in trouble, but the River Plate boss was unimpressed. Recently his agent confirmed the rumour, "Barca contacted Gallardo when they were about to sack Valverde, and eventually they found Setine. ”

Not long ago, another La Liga giant, Atletico Madrid, was also very interested in Gallardo, and when Gallardo drove to the training base, he was asked about it by a fan, who said: "They called from Madrid to tell me the news. Gallardo just laughed it off.

There have also been calls for Serie A giants Juventus to appoint Gallardo to ban Allegri, with Bianconeri legend Trezeguet saying: "I don't think it is a problem for Gallardo to manage a team of Juve's size. ”

When Ligue 1 hegemony Paris Saint-Germain also developed a crush on Gallardo last season, after being eliminated by Real Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League, Nasser believes that Gallardo, as a team name, can shoulder the responsibility of leading Paris to a leap forward, just as he did at River Plate.

Now that the successful Gallardo has passed all the levels of the River Plate "mission", with the aura of "Guardiola of South America" and the title coach on his head, will Gallardo open a new challenge in the five major European leagues?

(Supine Push-ups/Xu Yaojian)