The Season in Argentine Football: Coaching Instability in the Professional League 2023
At the start of a new campaign, the First Division remains unsettled as ever: six coaches have exited on nine different dates, underscoring the fragile nature of leadership in the domestic game.
Leading a coach’s career in Argentine football is often a volatile calling. The pressures for results trigger quick changes, and leadership frequently assigns blame to the technical directors. Long-term projects are more a rare exception than a realistic goal for many clubs, with every tenure under constant scrutiny.
The full run of the 2023 Professional League
After a 2022 season that saw thirty managerial departures (eleven in the first half, fourteen in the second, and five after the season’s end) and marked by the end of the era following Marcelo Gallardo’s retirement at River Plate, 2023 arrived with heightened drama. Only four games into the year, the pace of displacements intensified; within eight matches, four coaches had left their posts.
In this review, the overview covers all coaches who stepped away from their roles in the 2023 Professional Soccer League for a variety of reasons.
1 | MARCELO SARALEGUI – COLÓN
The year began with three straight losses and a draw in the clásico against Unión. Facing mounting pressure, Colón dismissed the Uruguayan manager 24 hours after a 1-1 league result against the same rival, despite a post-game claim that he felt capable of staying. In the weeks before the provincial derby, reports had already circulated that his tenure might end soon.
Speaking after the decision, Saralegui said the campaign was lean compared to the previous year and that while he believed he could have steered the club, supporters remained unhappy with managers for reasons beyond results, prompting a managerial change.
Appointed on an interim basis at the end of September 2022 following Adrián Marini’s departure, Saralegui had guided Colón to three wins, two defeats, and one draw in the final six games of the season. He was confirmed after Ricardo Zielinski agreed to take over the reins.
2 | ALEXANDER MEDINA – VELEZ
SC International
The defeat to Boca Juniors on Saturday, February 25, in the league’s fifth round, sealed the end of a cycle long overdue. After losing 2-1 to the Xeneizes in a match where Vélez played with ten men, Medina did not attend the post-match press conference. Instead, manager Christian Bassedas reported that the coach was no longer in charge, in consultation with the club leadership.
Thus began a nine-month cycle that saw Medina take charge at the end of May 2022 and struggle to settle. Vélez’s run included a Libertadores semi-final appearance in the prior edition but failed to provide stability, finishing with a record of 16 defeats, 11 wins, and 13 draws across 40 matches, yielding an effectiveness of 38%.
3 | ABEL BALBO – ESTUDIANTES
Estudiantes endured a rough opening with three losses and three draws in the first six rounds, but it wasn’t only results that doomed Balbo. A fraught relationship with key players and a strained dynamic with veteran captain Mariano Andújar left the squad fractured behind the scenes. After a defeat to Unión, Balbo parted ways with La Plata.
4 | LEANDRO STILLITANO – INDEPENDIENTE
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The departure unfolded amid a planned transition. A new leadership group moved to rectify the previous management’s financial crisis, moving through a busy transfer market and embracing a coach long associated with the club’s community as a fan and former ally of Ariel Holan. Yet the tenure proved shorter than anticipated.
Independiente began 2023 with only one win on the opening date against Talleres in Córdoba and had accumulated eight points from eight rounds. Four consecutive draws, coupled with difficulties at home, a lack of identity on the pitch, and squandered chances, led the board to approve Stillitano’s exit despite partial backing from some directors who hoped for a longer collaboration.
5 | HUGO IBARRA – BOCA JUNIORS
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The tenure of the interim-era manager, who took charge last July after Sebastián Battaglia was sacked, appeared to be a temporary arrangement. The football council had signaled that a longer stay would depend on finding a viable alternative, and the decision to extend the project lingered until the start of 2023. Ibarra captured the league title and added a later Argentine Super Cup triumph, seemingly extending the cycle until the year progressed.
Yet the start of the new year brought disappointments. After a couple of defeats in the league and a strong March run in the Argentine Cup, the council moved to terminate the cycle on March 28 following two straight league losses, despite a prior Cup win and an earlier domestic success.
6 | GUSTAVO MUNÚA – UNIÓN
One of the longer tenures in the top tier came to an end. On April 4, after a heavy defeat against River Plate on the ninth round, Unión’s Uruguayan coach, who began in October 2021, left with the club fighting near the bottom of the table. The era had included a 2022 Copa Sudamericana qualification and a continental round-of-16 appearance, but the team’s struggles in 2023 proved untenable.
From the fifth round onward, parts of the board had signaled the possibility of a change, and after a road-heavy stretch that included a 2-0 win earlier against Estudiantes, the decision to part ways was finally implemented. Munúa left with just two victories in his last twenty matches, as the squad fought to secure stability.
Citation: Goal