The Rojo coach completed his first semester at the club, with objectives achieved and a performance that grew after several turbulences.
2024 Independent came to an end. And as usually happens at the end of each season, it is time to take stock and analyze. Within them fits the cycle of Julio Vaccariwho after five months in charge of the first team, had to go through intense ups and downs. With the defensive order as the highest flag, but with complications in the offensive facet that led him to turn to the youngest members of the squad, the first semester of the Rojo coach ended better than initially expected, with the international objective included. Although it cost, The return to the competitive pace leaves air of hope for the future.
“The balance of the year is positive because we achieved one of the objectives that the institution had when we arrived and the team improved little by little“was the phrase with which Julio Vaccari himself analyzed his stay at Independiente. Although he was realistic that during the process not everything was rosy. “We have to take it as a learning experience and know what the path is, knowing that we could have reached a little more.“he added.
Vaccari He made his debut on the King of Cups’ bench on July 18in a tough 3-1 defeat against Instituto as a visitor, revealing the difficulties that the team would present to win away from Avellaneda. From that match in Alta Córdoba to the duel against Boca in La Bombonera, DT He was in charge of 24 games and achieved a balance of nine wins, ten draws and five losses. And 51 percent effective.
Independent He closed the year with optimism, seventh in the Professional League (their best placement in a round-robin tournament since 2018-19) and qualified for a international tournament after two years of absence. Among his achievements, the fortress he built in the Libertadores de América also stands out, where he has not yet known defeat. But, to understand this closing, it is necessary to go back to the turbulence that Vaccari overcame to string together a series of points that were long overdue.
Vaccari and Independiente closed the year with a tie at La Bombonera (@Independiente).
The beginning of the second half of the year was not the best of all. El Rojo achieved two draws (vs. Barracas Central and San Lorenzo) and two defeats (vs. Instituto and Independiente Rivadavia) in their first four games.
However, the stay of the former Defense and Justice DT presented a turning point that gave him a 180-degree turn: the registration of reinforcements and the construction of a defensive block that little by little would become an absolute guarantee. The enabling of Federico Vera, Kevin Lomonaco, Felipe Loyola y Marco Pellegrino to be able to play took immediate effect. With a more prominent presence of the first three, Vaccari’s Rojo forgot about the defeats for a long time and began to add points that were worth like water in the desert.
After the goalless draw against San Lorenzo, the subsequent 2-0 victory against Estudiantes de La Plata was the kickoff for Rojo to reach a undefeated in 13 games in the tournamentwith the particularity of only conceding four goals in them. But while things were going perfectly on defense, the team was far from flowing on offense. Approaches to the rival goal were scarce, mobility was slow and it was difficult to define the style of play that the coach was looking for. This is how the undefeated streak was composed of only six wins and seven drawswith five of them being 0-0 as a result. A clear x-ray of the greatest deficit.
As a consequence of an unstable performance, with the loss against Vélez in the quarterfinals of the Argentine Cup in the middle of the undefeated local tournament, Vaccari began to use his last chips to find a way back for his team from the midfield forward. Independiente did not receive goals, but they did not convert either and the concern increased. Until the revolution of Villa Dominico arrived.
Vaccari, from stormy beginnings to generating hope towards 2025 (@Independiente).
It would only be in his 20th game for the club when the Independiente world began to get an idea of what the coach intended. Paradoxically, it happened in the hard fall in front of Newell’s in Rosario, when faced with the emergency of rescuing some point, Vaccari opted for names like Lautaro Millancontinued to trust in a Santiago Hidalgo who grew as a winger on the right and in Diego Tarzia on the left to replace the injured Santiago Montiel.
With that basis, added to a Gabriel Avalos He overcame the sidelong glances and finished the year as the team’s top scorer. Independiente closes 2024 by reversing its deficit: he scored four goals in his last three games, while also keeping his defensive wall firm, conceding only one. With greater effectiveness and generation of danger, they beat Central Córdoba and Atlético Tucumán at home with a different game idea included. It was difficult to find a way around it, but it paid off in the final sprint of the year to secure a date before the end of the tournament to qualify for the Sudamericana.. The main objective was achieved, despite being left with the thorn of having scratched a ticket to the Libertadores.
Independiente ended the year with a different image than much of the semester. That is why those led by Vaccari invite you to trust for 2025. Now, they will have the difficult task of facing multiple competition, a factor that makes the next transfer market the fundamental step for Red to be enthusiastic about strengthening itself and growing the bases obtained, from a cycle that went from being barely regular to positive.