🐔 Gallardo opens up: "River is part of who I am" | OneFootball

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

'El Muñeco' expressed the meaning that the club has in his life in an interview with FIFA ahead of the Club World Cup.

River Plate has had many personalities that have marked its history, but few have the weight of Marcelo Gallardo, a footballer who emerged from the club and has become the most successful coach in the institution, achieving great consecration against Boca Juniors in the 2018 Copa Libertadores.

In dialogue with the official FIFA website, 'El Muñeco' expressed what River means to his life and left some moving words.

"It's a very special feeling. It's part of my essence as a sportsman, as a footballer, and as a person. I was born in this club, they have given me all the possibilities to grow," he commented.

"It's a huge identification that I feel for the club and its fans with me. It has become a spectacular scenario to live. That's what it represents for me. It's a popular phenomenon that has been enhanced in recent years. I'm in the place I want to be, I'm happy being here and because it's part of my life," the 'Millonario' coach concluded.

Gallardo has won a total of 14 titles as River's coach, including seven international and seven national cups. Additionally, in his playing career, he won eight trophies.

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will give him the opportunity to expand his record. "For me, being part of a tournament of such hierarchy in its birth, regarding a Club World Cup, with clubs from all over the world competing in the same place generates great expectation," he said about the tournament in the United States.

Meanwhile, River Plate will face Vélez this Sunday at the Estadio Mâs Monumental to determine their position in the Zona B standings and their future rival in the playoffs of the 2025 Torneo Apertura of the Liga Profesional de Fútbol (LPF).

📸 LUIS ROBAYO - AFP or licensors