The rope in Atlético Nacional broke again on its thinnest side. In a decision that could be seen coming, Alejandro Restrepo was fired from the club after the latest results and prior to the return match of the Copa Libertadores against Olimpia from Paraguay.
The coach’s relationship with the fans had deteriorated, especially after the defeat in the first leg of the Libertadores, 3-1 against the Guarani club. Nor did the fall help him, by the same score, with Bucaramanga in the League with a team full of youth. In that same game he had an uncomfortable situation with goalkeeper Aldair Quintana, who after an error in the first half did not come out to play the complementary stage. Restrepo said that what happened remained in the dressing room.
The footballers and managers, once again, washed their hands. Since 2017, after the departure of Reinaldo Rueda, the Antioquia team has not been able to stabilize any process and has “burned” category technicians such as Juan Manuel Lillo, Jorge Almirón, Paulo Autuori, Juan Carlos Osorio, Alexandre Guimarães and now he has also remained. at the stake Alejandro Restrepo.
Among the candidates to lead the Green are Hernán Darío Herrera, who for now will be the interim coach, in addition to foreigners Hernán Crespo (Argentine) and Alfredo Arias (Uruguayan). Also, among the fans, other names sound, but they have the limitations of directing different teams in the League and, as a rule, they could not take on another club in the same tournament, such as Hernán Torres, Alberto Gamero and Leonel Álvarez. The same, Harold Rivera, Lucas Pusineri (Argentine) and Rueda himself sound in case of not qualifying for the World Cup with Colombia.
The “Arriero”, ready for the challenge
Hernán Darío Herrera stated that taking on Nacional at this time is not a hot potato. “I am available for the institution whenever it requires me.” He added that we have to overcome the score against Olimpia. “If we have the fans on our side, I know that we can overcome that marker and there is something with which”.
Herrera said that he will instill his style in the team: “There is already a job here and I will put something of what I know into it. There are things that are the style and the strategy and I have mine”.
He expressed that he does not worry about whether or not he remains as a property technician. “I want the fans to enjoy the game and the journalists to support it. God will provide. I am calm and I have a very good working group”.
What the players say
Defender Felipe Aguilar and midfielder Sebastián Gómez spoke about the responsibility of the club’s footballers. “As a team we have lacked growth and we have to evaluate ourselves on who is giving 100 percent and who is not,” said Felipe Aguilar.
Sebastián Gómez agreed with this appreciation, who went further: “We are not giving 100 percent and everyone must be reviewed.”
They also stated that it is they, the players, who must carry this moment forward.
“This is not about technicians, we have to look at ourselves and analyze whether we are good enough to be in Nacional or not, there is a lot of pressure here and we have to learn to deal with it, there have been failures and we have to recover,” added Gómez.
It is necessary to know the position of the directors, because in Nacional the responsibility is shared
Hernan Dario Herrera
interim technician
He already had the opportunity to direct the professional team, between August and November 2018 after the resignation of Argentine Jorge Almirón, and managed to win the title of the Copa Colombia that year. He has trained in Europe and the fans recognize him as a benchmark for the Antioquia club.
Hernan Crespo
Argentinian coach
He gives the greatest importance to possession of the ball, with a clear intention of being aggressive on the rival goal and trying to generate the greatest number of scoring situations. That was what he demonstrated with Defense and Justice to win the South American 2020. His last club, Sao Paulo from Brazil.
Alfredo Arias
Uruguayan strategist
The former Cali coach has a game philosophy similar to that of Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli, in which order, aggressiveness, high pressure and dizzying attack predominate. He was champion in Uruguay with Montevideo Wanderers and with Emelec in Ecuador.
