Eduardo Coudet confirmed as new River Plate head coach

Eduardo “Chacho” Coudet will be the new River Plate head coach, club president Stefano Di Carlo confirmed on Tuesday. “It’s done,” Di Carlo told sports outlet ESPN. “Tomorrow we’ll be making the official announcement. If everything goes well, it should be around noon.” The River president confirmed the coach will sign a contract running until December 2027 and take up his position immediately. Coudet had a contract with Spanish club Deportivo Alavés until June this year, so River will have to pay compensation to terminate it. Coudet, who was the leading favorite for the position from the moment Marcelo Gallardo announced his resignation, was chosen in agreement with sporting director Enzo Francescoli. Di Carlo said the club was looking for someone who had history with the Millonario, but also a proven track record as a coach. “As he did with Gallardo, [Francescoli] was the one who suggested Coudet, and I agreed instantly because ‘Chacho’ is very methodical and hard working,” the River president said, adding the club only negotiated with the new coach for the position, and never got to talk to anyone else for the job. A River fan favorite Born in Buenos Aires on September 12, 1974, Coudet first broke through as a footballer at club Platense at the age of 19 in 1993. However, his first time in the spotlight came two years later, when he moved to Rosario Central.  A spirited and elegant right midfielder, he won the 1995 Copa Conmebol with the Canalla, and moved to River in 1999 after a short stint at San Lorenzo. He spent five years at River — with a single year at Celta de Vigo in Spain in between — winning five Primera Division titles.  Coudet retired in 2011, after spending the rest of his career at several clubs in Argentina, Mexico and the U.S. The move into coaching began in 2015, taking over Rosario Central and leading them to consecutive Copa Argentina final appearances in 2015 and 2016, losing the first to Boca Juniors in a match mired by refereeing controversies, and the second one to River. After that, he had several stints at the helm of clubs in Argentina and Brazil, Mexico and Spain, the most successful being undoubtedly his title-winning campaign with Racing in 2019. As a coach, he’s known for favoring a possession-based style of football, wanting the most from his players in training, but also offering them a shoulder to lean on, as former Celta de Vigo Nolito Durán told Cadena SER in 2024. “He got to the club during a bad moment, and he did a great job,” the Spanish forward said. “We started to compete, enjoy games and win a couple too. He’s very skilled in many areas. He’s been a footballer, so he knows how to treat people; who needs some love, who doesn’t, who needs something else. He’s got that empathy.” For a River Plate squad that’s struggled to get out of the hole of high expectations under Marcelo Gallardo, it sounds like a match made in heaven.