In the midst of a football crisis, the president of River, Stéfano Di Carlo, held a press conference lasting just over an hour accompanied by the club's main leaders and made an extensive self-criticism about the current sports situation, explained the decisions made during the transfer market and supported coach Eduardo Coudet. He also addressed the excluded players, the situation of Juan Fernando Quintero, the refereeing, and the match against Independiente Santa Fe.
Di Carlo's diagnosis of River's crisis
Di Carlo began his presentation with an explanation of the decisions made by the management to try to change the team's course. The president stated that the club had been going through a decline for some time and that, after the championship final, it was decided to intervene strongly in the transfer market.
“We come from a complex starting point. We have been in a decline for some time. That's how football works, in a spiral manner. There are football teams that after a successful moment experience a downturn. In our case, that was the starting point,” he affirmed.
In that sense, he explained that River had two paths after the final, but the management opted for a deep renewal of the squad: “However, we decided to intervene strongly in the transfer market. I gave an interview expressing what we felt, regardless of reaching that final. That River does not play the way we wanted. We sought to build a squad that represented us.”
“We sought a more aggressive path, with a strong market, to build from those signings. To have a base of a squad to organize River's project. To seek a leap in level, hierarchy. Additionally, with the speed that the moment required. We not only sought hierarchy but also projection,” he added.
Finally, Di Carlo acknowledged that the management may have made mistakes, although he defended the decisions made: “We did three transfer markets in one. We may have made mistakes. Those who act make mistakes, but that doesn't mean we stop acting. That doesn't mean we float. For us, the number of defeats, both before and now, was serious.”
Self-criticism regarding the way players were separated
Di Carlo explained that the decision to exclude players was linked to the need to reduce the number of professionals to incorporate reinforcements, but he acknowledged that the methods were not appropriate.
“Regarding the separated players. That responds to a sporting issue. That issue has a flip side that to incorporate you have to remove. Historical experience shows that it is very complex. Other methods were tried, but they did not work,” he noted.
“There was a very important number of professionals. We made a decision, which in hindsight was a mistake in the methods, the ways, of separating the players. Then we suggested to them if they wanted to train in double shifts in Ezeiza. Perhaps a notice could have been generated, that the groups would be divided,” he continued.
The president assured that, despite the decision, River sought to maintain respect towards the players: “The exits, beyond the error of the methods, regardless of that, we never stopped being respectful to them. We proposed to help them.”
Later, he took responsibility again for the way the measure was carried out: “That does not excuse the methodological errors for which we have to respond, correct. Those methodological errors respond to one of the most critical moments in terms of results. We have sinned by acting, due to the intensity of seeking in the market. The fundamental decision was necessary. Today, of the 12 excluded professionals, 4 remain.”
He also explained that the decision did not cause an economic detriment to the club: “We have to look forward. In terms of assets, we did not cause any detriment. The market knows the value of each player. That does not change, whether separating or not separating.”
Planning for the preseason
The president rejected that the coaching staff had any responsibility for a possible lack of players during the preseason and assured that River fulfilled the requests made.
“Regarding the preseason. In that sense, the coaching staff did not have an impact either. When they required more players, six youth players traveled,” he stated.
And he added: “All teams in the world have between 20 and 24 players. In Argentina, more players are accepted, but that exceeds everything. There was no request for more professionals for that moment of the preseason.”
Restructuring the squad and asking for time
Di Carlo stated that the management sought to reduce the number of squad members and raise their hierarchy, although he acknowledged that the team is going through a negative streak that is not up to River's standards.
“We know how football is. The negative dynamic was present before separating the players. The context makes everything more than it is. We wanted to shrink the squad and elevate its level. To invest roughly the same money in football but with fewer names,” he explained.
Regarding the football moment, he admitted: “There is a negative streak that is unacceptable for River, which is serious. But we also feel, believe, and think that River fans have lost, rightly so, the ability to project what is coming, what we are building.”
In that sense, he asked for time for the reinforcements to adapt: “The reinforcements have not yet gelled. The transitions to get back on our feet are long. What we need is time, unity, which we have. Players, coaching staff, we are united.”
Di Carlo assured that the squad maintains confidence in Coudet and in the project: “They have a conviction in the figure of the coach, in his work. We are in urgency, and that makes it unacceptable and intolerable. This team needs to find functioning, but we have the raw material. River will return to being what it needs to be. We are convinced.”
Finally, he emphasized that the process will be uncomfortable, but that the management will continue to work: “What we need is time. In that process, it will be uncomfortable, but that’s how football works. We have to live in discomfort. This is long, it’s uncomfortable. But that doesn’t mean we stop working, intervening forcefully in the market.”
And he closed with a request to the fans: “We understand the little tolerance, but we need time to get the team on track. That will be long, uncomfortable, but it will get back on its feet.”
