Hot benches: the year of technical changes among the big guys in South America

Two Argentinians and a Brazilian. The big three of Chilean football have foreign coaches. And all three are different from those who finished the 2023 season in Colo Colo , University of Chile And Catholic University . While Jorge Almiron And Gustavo Alvarez They started 2024 by leading the Cacique and U projects, Tiago Nunes He is building his story at UC, as a sort of “fireman” to get the Crusaders out of the bad position they found themselves in and which involved the early departure of Nicolás Núñez.

Nunes took to the hot iron after a brief stay at Botafogo. He is the first Brazilian coach in the history of Católica. “I was clear that I wanted to be in a traditional team and with a very solid jersey. Católica is a team that doesn’t need to be explained, everyone knows Católica and that’s why it’s a team that attracts me,” he said in an interview with Deportivo ago a few weeks in addition, he admitted to having references to Sporting Cristal, where he previously managed Fogao, a club similar to UC in the reality of Peruvian football.

What is certain is that The rotation of technicians in the large teams of each South American country has widened and deepened. Whether due to poor results, inability to achieve objectives or other types of disagreements, many projects end in failure because the benches change , especially in larger castings, those that have a larger resonance chamber. The following note gives a general overview of the technical changes that have taken place in the traditional and powerful teams of the leagues on this side of the world.

When Cruzados had to go to the market to look for a replacement for Núñez, the name of Gabriel Milito . The Argentine, free, was one of the most sought after for his exceptional work at Argentinos Juniors. He said no to UC’s interest and, a few days later, signed at Atlético Mineiro until December 2025 , nothing less than replacing long-serving Luiz Felipe Scolari. Belo Horizonte’s rival, Cruzeiro, Nicolas Larcamón was fired after losing the state championship final, precisely against Galo. In an interview with ESPN, the former coach of Antofagasta and Curicó Unidos regretted Ronaldo’s attitude which interrupted his process. “The truth is that when you are in a much more passionate environment, where decisions are made with more passion and less logic, the work process is interrupted. “We were doing very well, but the decision was made after we lost the final,” he said.

Another one that sounded at the beginning of the year in Chile, notably as a desire for Colo Colo, was Luis Zubeldia. The Argentine left the Quito League and began to be monitored by various teams. Finally, he takes over in Sao Paulo, replacing Thiago Carpini who, in turn, came to replace Dorival Júnior, now Brazil coach. While Portugal’s Artur Jorge recently took over at Botafogo, Cuca returned to the Athletico Paranaense ring. The last thing was with the departure of Ramón Díaz from the Vasco da Gama bench after the fall of the weekend at the Brasileirao.

The reality on the other side of the mountain range is not that different either. Ruben Darío Insúa It is an institution in San Lorenzo de Almagro, a place where he returned and took him to the Copa Libertadores 2024. But this year the panorama has changed. The results did not follow, until the DT left his post by decision of the new board of directors. His interim replacement is Leandro ‘Pipi’ Romagnoli. At the start of the season, teams like Boca Juniors, Racing and Vélez presented changes in the technical cabins: Diego Martinez, Gustavo Costas and Gustavo Quinteros . The latter places Fortín in the final of the League Cup, which is played on Sunday.

Ariel Holan He is back. After his noisy departure from UC, following the poor results obtained during his second stage, the Argentinian was on the market. Independiente fans have always dreamed of seeing him again at Avellaneda. However, he headed towards Ecuador. Holan was made official on April 22 as the new coach of Barcelona de Guayaquil, replacing Uruguayan Diego López. What is curious is that the former coach of the U had renewed until 2025.

In the country of Guayas, important teams such as LDU and Independiente del Valle started 2024 with new coaches. While the Spaniard Josep Alcácer was chosen to replace Zubeldía, the Argentinian Javier Gandolfi took over at IDV in place of his compatriot Martín Anselmi, now at Cruz Azul.

In Paraguay, Martin Palermo He faced a relevant challenge like reaching Olimpia, the most powerful team in this country. The Titan arrived in February at multi-champion Guarani. The rival also changed technical manager. Cerro Porteño, Colo Colo’s rival in the Copa Libertadores, has had the Spaniard Manolo Jiménez since March. In Colombia, two of the largest in the country have experienced similar processes. América de Cali, which dreamed of recruiting Ricardo Gareca, finds itself without a coach after the departure of the Venezuelan Cesar Farias. For its part, Atlético Nacional has had since February Pablo Repetto, with a long history in Ecuador.

In Peru, Fabián Bustos replaced Jorge Fossati at the Sports University , after the departure of the Uruguayan for the Inca team. And in Bolivia, The Strongest is looking for the successor of the transandean Pablo Lavallen who left his post at Tigre de La Paz.