Marcelo Gallardo about to take River Plate to the brink of history with shocking feat

Marcelo Gallardo is a name already part of River Plate's history and, no doubt, in the pantheon of the best coaches in South American soccer. Still, once more, last Tuesday, he managed to enter the history books. With the victory of River Plate over Colo Colo, the squad secured a spot in the Copa Libertadores semifinals for the sixth time with Gallardo at the helm, a record previously held only by Luiz Felipe Scolari. What is different about Gallardo? With only one club: River Plate.

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This feat puts into focus that Felipão, another soccer giant, took three teams to the Libertadores semifinals: Grêmio, Palmeiras, and Athletico-PR. The job at hand with Gallardo has been one of the same repeated performances with the same team. Proof that between a coach and a club there may be the bedrock on which to build a true dynasty in soccer.

Mastery by Gallardo

Gallardo has been in charge since 2014 and has made River nothing but a powerhouse in Argentina, let alone all of South America. Many have always regarded River Plate as a name synonymous with greatness, but it was Gallardo who returned the team to international competitiveness and consistently placed them at the top of the Libertadores.

With six semifinals under his belt, the Argentine coach turned River Plate into a title-chasing machine. He is also a two-time winner of the Libertadores. The first one was in 2015 when River defeated Tigres from Mexico in the final. The 2018 victory sealed his legacy, but the epic final against Boca Juniors at the Santiago Bernabéu in Spain-only added to the aura of that triumph.

But like any good coach, Gallardo has taken his fair share of painful losses: a semifinal Lanús eliminating River in 2017, then Palmeiras's turn in 2020-which would later win the tournament-and, of course, the gut-wrenching defeat against Flamengo during the 2019 final, a game that was well in River's pocket until the final minutes. The Record That Puts Gallardo at the Top

With the semifinals of 2024, he finally managed to tie that record with Felipão: six semis in Libertadores. While Scolari had spread his success across three different teams, Gallardo did all that with River Plate, which makes it far more special. After all, he's managed to keep the club at the top for nearly a decade, something rather rare in the highly competitive and headstrong world of South American soccer.

Renato Portaluppi and Carlos Bianchi follow closely in the Libertadores pantheon, with five semifinals each. Notably, Bianchi-who was a four-time champion-won all his semifinals, an incredible feat of its own right.

Gallardo is, however, the only coach to lead the same team to this many continental showdowns. This is not only about tactical knowledge but also elite squad management and the continuous motivation of his players-skills that not very few can sustain over such a long period of time.

2024 Challenge

Now, in 2024, it's Atlético Mineiro that represent yet another challenge for Gallardo's River Plate. The Brazilians, winners of the Libertadores in 2013, are hot going into this match and are ready to knock down the Argentine giant. This really is one of the most electric clashes of this tournament so far, having two clubs in fine form and hungry for continental glory once again.