Ricardo Gareca took over as coach of Vélez this Wednesday, in his second cycle at the club, and will debut on Monday against Martín Palermo’s Platense, for the seventh date of the Professional Football League (LPF).
The club made official the arrival of “Tigre” Gareca at “Fortín” on its Twitter account, with a photo in which the coach is seen very happy, with a sign of “all good”, and with Vélez’s clothes on his first practice in charge of the team. Gareca, 65, was previously from 2009 to 2013, when he won four First Division titles and reached a semifinal of the Copa Libertadores de América.
The coach’s contract will run until the end of this season, in which Vélez will seek to play a good role after just 46 points added in 2022, which left him out of all international competitions. Gareca, who replaced the Uruguayan Alexander “Cacique” Medina, came to the position after eight years in charge of the Peru team, in which he participated in the 2018 World Cup in Russia and was left out of Qatar 2022 in the playoff against Australia on penalties. In addition, in the 2015 and 2021 Copa América he finished in third place, while in the 2019 edition he finished fourth.
As a coach he has a long career, which began in San Martín de Tucumán in 1995 and continued in Talleres de Córdoba -four times-, Independiente, Colón, Quilmes, Argentinos Juniors and Vélez -2009 to 2013- in the country; América de Cali and Independiente Santa Fe in Colombia; Palmeiras from Brazil; and University of Peru. In that way, he added the National B title with Talleres in 1998 and Conmebol in 1999; and the Opening of Peru with Universitario in 2008.
Vélez will continue with his training these days and the presentation of Gareca, with a press conference, will be closer to the weekend. The debut will be on Monday against Platense, from 9:00 p.m. at the José Amalfitani stadium.