The former Chelsea and Argentina sharpshooter bowed out of the club a Libertadores winner in 1996 – and now he comes back as Defensa y Justicia coach
Hernan Crespo is fondly remembered around the Monumental. The former Chelsea forward began his sparkling career with River Plate, taking the Millonarios to new heights as a teenager thanks to his extraordinary ability in front of goal.
On Saturday, however, Crespo returns to his former stamping ground with the intention of putting on hold River’s Superliga victory party. And judging by the encouraging improvement he has achieved as coach of Defensa y Justicia in the space of precious few weeks, he might just manage to keep the champagne on ice around the Monumental for at least another week.
The 44-year-old is enjoying his second spell in Argentina’s top flight as a coach. He worked in Italy following retirement at Parma’s reserves and with Modena, after his debut stint at Banfield in his homeland fell flat. More used to the pragmatic, safety-first football propagated by Crespo’s predecessor – and, as it happens, his successor – Julio Cesar Falcioni, the club struggled under his more dynamic attacking style.
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Results failed to pick up after an action-packed start to his tenure which included a thrilling 4-4 draw against Tigre – as well as a credible draw at home to River – and Crespo was shown his marching orders just five games into the current Superliga campaign.
Although it is still early to tell, first indications suggest that Defensa will prove a more suitable fit for Crespo’s intentions. The tiny Florencio Varela club were shock runners-up in 2018-19 under Jorge Sampaoli’s old Argentina assistant Sebastian Beccacece, playing some scintillating football on their way to a best-ever top-flight finish.
Beccacece moved on, to an ill-fated spell at Independiente, the squad was gutted too in a fire sale to the nation’s biggest clubs. Replacement Mariano Soso moved on at the end of 2019 after suffering seven defeats in his opening 16 games.
Crespo’s tenure on the bench started discreetly with two draws, but back-to-back wins over Rosario Central and Estudiantes have sent Defensa shooting up the standings and into contention for a Copa Libertadores spot, suggesting the Halcon have found their feet. Next week brings a new first for the club in the shape of their debut Libertadores campaign, which kicks off on Tuesday at home to Brazil’s Santos.
River, however, will be his biggest challenge yet – not least because of the bond between coach and club that extends back almost four decades.
“I am going back to the River stadium, with River fans inside, for the first time since 1996. It is impossible not to have strong feelings about that,” Crespo admitted to Pagina 12 ahead of the clash. “I have been back with the national team and to see other games in those 24 years. The stadium will be packed and I will be there. It is going to be beautiful, a fantastic feeling.
Crespo was born in the town of Florida, deep in the heart of the northern Buenos Aires suburbs dominated by Millo supporters, and joined the club as a child, making his youth debut at just 13. He went on become a firm favourite, starring in one of the best River sides in their history alongside the likes of Enzo Francescoli, Ariel Ortega and current Atletico Madrid assistant German Burgos. Club legend Ramon Diaz was on the bench as coach; while a young Marcelo Gallardo was just coming through the ranks.
That brilliant side won back-to-back Primera titles in 1993 and 1994, but it was two years later in the 1996 Libertadores that they – and Crespo in particular – would write their names in history. The striker, still only 20, netted 10 times including both goals in the final second leg as River downed America de Cali to win the continental crown.
That June day in front of 90,000 fans in the Monumental proved to be his last in River colours; just one month later he moved to Parma, continuing an adventure that included three World Cups, a world-record move to Inter, three consecutive Scudetti and almost universal recognition as one of the best forwards on the planet.
Now Crespo and River’s paths cross again, with his old team-mate Gallardo at the helm of a side that rivals the team of the 90s as the Millo’s best-ever, in trophies won if not pure star power.
For all River’s success at continental level under Gallardo, including two Libertadores triumphs and 2019’s narrow last-minute defeat to Flamengo in the final, the league has proved elusive. Not since 2014 have the Nunez club managed to take the domestic title. But with just two games to go and enjoying a three-point cushion over arch-rivals Boca Juniors, the Millo are tantalisingly close – indeed, they could take the trophy outright against Defensa by bettering Boca’s result on Friday away to Colon.
Finding himself on the other side while River’s stars take the customary lap of honour would be an unfamiliar feeling for Crespo. There may be a bigger prize on offer, though. Gallardo’s six years in charge are near-unprecedented in the topsy turvy world of Argentine football and, whether it is at the end of the current season, the end of 2020 or even two of three years from now, the time will come for the record-breaking coach to step down and continue his career elsewhere.
Who better for River, then, than a club idol who has proved in his short time as a coach that his philosophy and undaunted search for goals fits in perfectly with the values held so dearly at the Monumental?
Millo fans will give Crespo a rousing ovation when he steps out on Saturday, but they will also be watching closely as, like it or not, he prepares for a high-pressure audition as a possible successor to Gallardo when his reign comes to a close. If the legend can continue his promising early work with Defensa, he might just make the grade.
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