José Alonso: "We found chaos at Colón and a major financial mess" | OneFootball

The brand-new president of Colón de Santa Fe, José Alonso, spoke at length with Radio La Red of Buenos Aires about the club’s critical situation, the challenges of his administration, and the role of the new manager, Diego Colotto. Alonso did not hold back in his criticism of the previous leadership, whom he accused of mismanagement and plunging the club into chaos.

Below are the main topics addressed by Alonso:

1. Diagnosis of Colón’s crisis:

Alonso described a bleak outlook for the past two years, contrasting it with the club’s recent success as champions under Eduardo Domínguez and finalists in the Copa Sudamericana.

“The truth is that the last two years were painful,” he added. “I think in the last two years there was a sort of lack of management, and not just a lack of management, but it also turned into a kind of anarchy, in which the club couldn’t find its direction.” “There was poor management by the people running the club, and well, I think that led to what we saw in these last two years: a hesitant Colón, soulless, expressionless, lacking grit, lacking courage—in other words, that mystique Colón had, the ‘garra sabalera,’ seemed anemic.”

“So much so that we were practically on the verge of relegation, right?”

2. Critical situation of the squad:

The president agreed with previous statements from former players about the team’s internal problems, which he described as “soulless” and lacking the necessary rebelliousness. “It was a team without soul. Why? Because you didn’t see any rebelliousness. You couldn’t even find empathy among the players.”

He highlighted the work of Ignacio Lago, whom he described as the “most outstanding player and the one who gave the team the most character,” but emphasized that in the current division “that’s not enough.”

He explained that Primera Nacional requires functioning “as a unit,” something that was missing from the team. “A unit doesn’t just mean technique or tactics, but also integration and the conviction of where the player wants to go along with his team.”

3. The role of Diego Colotto as manager:

Alonso expressed his satisfaction with the addition of Colotto, whom he considers a “prudent person with a lot of experience” and “a football fanatic 24 hours a day.” He highlighted a fundamental quality that sets him apart from other managers.

“It’s that Diego wants to be a manager; he’s not stepping on the field to see if he can be the future of the team, and that really reassures the person who precedes him. I think that’s a hugely important issue.”

“And he’s so intelligent that anything he says, with his basic and prudent knowledge, when he expresses it, he does so with such clarity that it’s convincing.”

4. The internal “mess” and the economic situation:

Alonso, who took office on December 3, described the state of the club as chaotic, with serious administrative and financial problems.

When asked how much of a mess he found, he replied: “A lot, a lot.” “We have uncovered an administrative disorder that we have to face in the coming days—I say days because there’s not much time left—and a very significant economic-financial problem, very significant. But we have it under control, we’re going to handle it.”

5. Dismantling of the youth divisions:

Finally, the president harshly criticized how the previous administration treated the youth teams, an area that has historically been strong for Colón.

“We always had youth or development teams—I don’t like to say ‘inferior’ teams; for me, the word ‘inferior’ doesn’t fit. Development or youth teams.”

“Well, in these last two years they tore them apart, in two years they practically let many players go for nothing, they dismantled them.”

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