Madelón after 0-2 loss to Gimnasia: «It hurts, we expected better»

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·01 de agosto de 2026

Madelón after 0-2 loss to Gimnasia: «It hurts, we expected better»

Unión de Santa Fe’s coach analyzed the 2-0 defeat to Gimnasia de Mendoza in a press conference. Despite the result, the head coach highlighted his team’s performance, questioned the penalty awarded through VAR, and delivered a message of calm looking ahead.

The flow of the game and the lack of finishing

Madelón felt the match was evenly contested and that his team had spells of good football that they failed to turn into goals:

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“We had 25 or 30 very good minutes in the first half. It was an end-to-end game. If we had struck early, maybe we could have unsettled them.”

“Whoever scored was going to win. We hit the woodwork twice, missed two or three one-on-ones. It’s part of football. Rigamonti made some very good saves too, and so did Mansilla. In a game like this, at least both teams took risks, and Gimnasia ended up taking everything.”

The penalty controversy and the use of VAR

The head coach did not hide his dissatisfaction with the penalty awarded to the opposing side at the end of the first half:

“At the end of the first half they scored from a penalty... For me, it’s one of those ‘not a penalty’ calls, but well, sometimes they give them, and it changed things a little.”

“I didn’t see it... everyone told me: those penalties shouldn’t be given, those little ‘soft penalties,’ you know, they shouldn’t be called. I wouldn’t even like it if they gave one in our favor, to be honest. Football is something else to me... The referee didn’t call a penalty, VAR called him over and then he gave it. It’s a ‘soft penalty,’ there’s no head, hand, or intent. I’m angry about that.”

Calm, the opposing goalkeeper’s performance, and the transfer window

When asked about the lack of efficiency in front of goal, the coach preferred to keep a cool head and value the team’s overall approach:

“We have to stay calm and composed. I look at how the team functioned, and in the first half Unión functioned well. When a team functions well, it’s because it played simply, understood the strategy for how to face the opponent, and created scoring chances.”

“We have to keep insisting. Keep insisting, resisting, persisting, never let up. There’s enough here; it’s a healthy, good, dynamic team. Unión plays, it takes the initiative, so we’re not only looking at the result.”

Finally, Madelón referred to the close of the transfer window and the squad’s restructuring:

“The club was able to get its finances back in order; apparently things were straightened out and it was able to lift the restrictions. The boys looked for a different future, and that’s fine. Now we have to reinvent ourselves again, build again.”

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