Gustavo Quinteros aims for his first cup in Argentina

Almost six months ago, Gustavo Quinteros said goodbye to Colo Colo after managing the club for more than three years. A few days later he was announced to Vélez of the Argentine First Division. Thus comes true an old desire to achieve in his native country, after crossing Bolivia (of which he has nationality), Ecuador, Chile, among others. Obviously Very few people imagined that in his first season in trans-Andean football he would already have the chance to lift a trophy. After a dramatic semi-final in which he had to play almost the entire match with one player less, El Fortín beat Argentinos Juniors on penalties and reached the grand final of the League Cup.

His rival in this case will be a great player from this country: Estudiantes de La Plata. Javier Altamirano’s team, which returned to physical activity in training this week, also eliminated Boca Juniors on penalties, a real blow to the aspirations of the Xeneize team.

Quinteros’ debut on the Vélez bench was complex. It was only in his fourth official match that he was able to win and to make matters worse, he was beaten 5-0 against River Plate. at the Monumental, the second day of the tournament. He received strong criticism from the press and the fans. Even his son had a heated argument in one of the stands at the José Amalfitani stadium. But the team recovered, improved little by little and finished in fourth place (out of 14 teams) in Group A of the competition with 25 points, with seven wins, four draws and three defeats.

“I told the players that this season and improving so quickly in a new job, a different system of play, with a different coach and coaching staff. Change your way of thinking and your mentality to aim for something else “I think it’s 14 games that we didn’t deserve to lose,” said the coach, giving a positive assessment of these first months with the team.

In this way, The Santa Fe man is aiming for title number 13 of his coaching career. In total, there were four in Bolivia, two in Ecuador and six in Chile. Of course, lifting the Cup on Sunday could have a more than special flavor, since it would be the first in its country of origin and, moreover, a feat that the institution has not achieved since 2014. After that, 10 years of drought have passed. and even tournaments in which they had to fight for permanence.

However, despite the great moment he is experiencing in Liniers, Quinteros does not forget his past in our country: “I want to greet and thank the inhabitants of Colo Colo who supported me. I will never forget when people chanted my name, it was something that stuck with me forever. An eternal salvation,” he commented this week in DSports. He did not even rule out a possible return to Cacique in the future: “If I returned to Chile, I would like to return to Colo Colo, because I stayed there for three years and we had unforgettable moments. You don’t know where football will take you anyway.”

The aforementioned meeting between Vélez and Estudiantes have agreed for 2:30 p.m. this Sunday, May 5. in Santiago del Estero.