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

River will visit Estudiantes de Río Cuarto this Sunday, a team recently 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 a conversation 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 (fitness coach) 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’re playing against River, but also because of what getting a good result could mean for my career and my chances of keeping the job, which is what I want and what the whole club wants,” he said.

It will undoubtedly be a special afternoon for Acuña, who will make his debut as a First Division coach in Argentine football 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, and being with the players helped me a lot; otherwise, I would have suffered much more,” he stated.

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

His debut will be this Sunday at 17:45 at the Estadio Ciudad de Río Cuarto Antonio Candini, which will have space for neutral fans. Estudiantes has managed just four points in 10 matches (beating Huracán and drawing with Argentinos Juniors, both at home) and urgently needs to start picking up points to dream of staying up. They will face River, now led by Eduardo Coudet, who has taken 10 out of 12 points and is enjoying a renewed atmosphere after the departure of Marcelo Gallardo.

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