Gerardo Acuña: Facing River is the biggest match of my life | OneFootball

River will visit Estudiantes de Río Cuarto this Sunday, a team newly promoted to the First Division and with just four points in 10 matches. Now without Iván Delfino on the bench, the team from Córdoba will be led by Gerardo Acuña. The interim coach finds himself facing an unexpected opportunity in his career and, in an interview with Super Deportivo Radio on Radio Villa Trinidad, admitted: “It will be the most important day of my career.”

“El Toro” was the head coach of Nueve de Morteros, from the San Francisco League, until just three months ago. After a successful stint, his recent past was marked by the deaths of two members of his coaching staff, Diego Demarchi (physical trainer) and Ezequiel Toloza (assistant coach). At the beginning of the year, he took charge of the Reserve team and now, following the dismissal of the First Division coach, he will serve as interim coach—no less than against the Millonario.

“Surely Sunday will be the most important day of my career as a coach. Not only because we are playing against River, but also because of what achieving a good result could mean for my career and being able to stay in the position, which is my wish and the wish of the entire club,” he stated.

Without a doubt, it will be a special afternoon for Acuña, who will make his debut as head coach in the Argentine First Division and will surely carry with him the memory of his two assistants. “Diego and Ezequiel meant a lot to my process at Nueve de Morteros in achieving everything we did. Their loss was a heavy blow; being with the players helped me a lot—if it hadn’t been for that, I would have suffered much more,” he said.

He added: “Last week, when I got the call that I would be coaching in the First Division, the first thing I thought of was those two… it moves me because they would be enjoying seeing me here. I keep them very close because they were friends. Both were very young. It hurts a lot; they are a part of me at this moment,” he expressed.

His debut will be this Sunday at 5:45 PM at the Estadio Ciudad de Río Cuarto Antonio Candini, which will have space for neutral fans. Estudiantes have managed just four points in 10 matches (defeating Huracán and drawing with Argentinos Juniors, both at home) and urgently need to start picking up points to dream of staying up. They will face Eduardo Coudet’s River, who have taken 10 out of 12 points and are enjoying a breath of fresh air after the departure of Marcelo Gallardo.

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