Gustavo «Sapito» Coleoni: “Colón have done well, there’s a deep squad” | OneFootball

On the eve of the match against Colón, San Miguel’s charismatic coach, Gustavo “Sapito” Coleoni, spoke in a relaxed interview with Darío Pignata on Radio Gol. The manager analyzed the current state of Primera Nacional, recalled his connection to the elections at El Sabalero, and offered some sharp thoughts on how squads are built in the toughest division in Argentine football.

Colón’s mistake and the “recipe” for promotion

Coleoni was asked about the difficulties big clubs face after being relegated, and he did not hesitate to point out what, in his view, was a flaw on the Santa Fe side’s part: “the biggest mistake was letting Iván (Delfino) go; I think that was a huge mistake by Colón because they let themselves be carried away by the situation”. For the coach, the key is not big-name signings, but physical sharpness: “if you bring in 3 players from the top division at the final stretch, they’re not going to push the team forward because you’re up against a team with a bunch of kids who aren’t that well known… they run, they fight, and the top-flight player feels uncomfortable”.

Along the same lines, he was blunt about quality versus intensity: “this isn’t a country club, brother; you can’t field 3 37-year-old players just because they’ve played in the top division. I don’t coach ID cards, I coach athletes”.

His link to Colón’s presidential race

“Sapo” admitted that his name was on the institutional radar at Barrio Centenario during the latest election process: “there were some 4 or 3 people running for president… one of them made serious contact with me”. Although the approach did happen, he made it clear that at the time he was already well advanced in talks with his current club: “I also had my situation not fully closed, but yes, quite far along in discussions with San Miguel”.

The “Colón World” analysis

Regarding the pressure from Colón’s fans, Coleoni recalled the impatience he sensed in the first year after relegation: “people went to the stadium looking to see when the second goal would come before the first, and they ran into a division that is difficult, that is tough”.

He revealed that he keeps up a fluid dialogue with Colón’s current coach: “today I have some back-and-forth with Medrán—not something longstanding, but we do talk quite a bit about certain players, recommending one, asking what this one or that one is like”.

Finally, he stressed that the club now seems to have understood the dynamic of the division: “I think Colón has done things well… choosing players in advance, a good preseason, I think there’s a deep squad there to compete”.

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