David Trezeguet has opened up about his complex relationship with Marcelo Gallardo during his second spell at Club Atlético River Plate. The former French striker, now the club's international ambassador, returned in December 2011 aiming to help secure promotion from the B Nacional and retire there.
Trezeguet was 36 when he came back to the Millonario, where Gallardo was already head coach. He scored a brace in the promotion-clinching match against Almirante Brown. Across his final stint, he netted 17 goals in 38 appearances. "I have to train, I have to deserve my place, earn my place," Trezeguet explained about his mentality. Despite his contributions, the forward expressed a specific disappointment. "Marcelo was not very clear with me," Trezeguet said regarding the moment the manager left him out of his plans for the second half of 2014.
Departure to India
Following that situation, Trezeguet left River Plate and Argentina to join Pune City in India. He retired from professional football six months later. He recalled that, in a previous similar situation, Ramón Díaz had been direct in informing him he would not have a place in the team due to persistent tendinitis, giving him time to find another club. Prior to his move to Pune, Trezeguet had a brief loan spell at Newell’s Old Boys where he won a title.
Legacy and praise
Beyond the disagreements, Trezeguet did not hold back praise for Gallardo as a player. They were teammates at Monaco when they won Ligue 1 in the 1999/2000 season. "Marcelo was chosen as the best player of the championship, the top assister. I finished that year with 23-24 goals," he recalled. Trezeguet described him as the best number 10 he ever played with, even ahead of figures like Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero, though he lamented that Gallardo lacked global recognition matching his quality.
Today, his link with River Plate continues in an institutional role. "The president [Stefano Di Carlo] asked me to create and accompany this process of making River known much more internationally," Trezeguet stated about his ambassadorial function, focused on brand internationalization and youth development.
These reflections come as River Plate sits eighth in the Liga Profesional Argentina, with 13 points from 10 games. The team looks to improve its performance after a recent run of form that includes wins against Atlético Tucumán, Independiente Rivadavia, and Banfield, but also a defeat to Huracán. The next fixture is an away trip to seventh-placed Sarmiento Junin on October 4th.
Gallardo's tenure at River Plate, which began precisely in 2014, started the most successful cycle in the club's history, with the Copa Sudamericana conquest that same year. Trezeguet, a World Cup champion with France in 1998, helped lay the groundwork for that sporting rebirth before embarking on his final path to India.
More detail at La Nacion AR Deportes
