Gallardo clashes with journalist: “I know how professional I am” | OneFootball

The River Plate coach, Marcelo Gallardo, had a controversial clash with a journalist after his team's 0-0 draw against Vélez Sarsfield, which left his team with a complex outlook for qualifying for the 2026 Copa Libertadores.

With that scenario, and still simmering with anger, Marcelo Gallardo sat down again at a press conference, and had a tense exchange with a journalist over a question.

"Are you seriously asking me that? Do you think not? Do you know me? I take responsibility for the team's performance, I've never come here to say otherwise," he began.

And he went further: "But you're not going to tell me if I'm demanding of myself or try to create that doubt... I won't allow it, because I know how professional I am, the demands I have on myself and for this club."

Far from calming things down, Gallardo deepened his discontent: "I know the commitment I have with myself and with the institution. That is beyond question. If you want to analyze the result, that's fine. They are negative and I accept them."

"That doesn't mean I'm not worried or lack conviction. I won't allow that, because it's meddling with my profession. After that, you can say a lot of things: that we're a disaster, that we can't make two passes to a teammate, that the team plays poorly... All of that is fine, I accept it. The other, no."

Finally, the coach made a self-criticism about his team's difficult present: "In a context of negativity, things don't flow naturally, but we have to keep trying. I don't see any other way out."

"At some point, it will turn around, it won't last forever. We are going through this moment of football negativity, we must isolate ourselves from all that and keep betting on work and recovering that lost memory," he concluded.

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