Only a few hours passed and there is already a deck of candidates to lead Atlético Nacional, following the dismissal of Alejandro Restrepo. A dead king, put king…
And the options go more through the coach’s profile than the costs. The idea of an attacking game, dynamic and back and forth would be the priority.
In this, the directors have already started, who have officially contacted the main candidate for the position: the Argentine Hernán Crespo.
It is an old dream of the club and it just so happens that it is available. That is why the local press airs it calmly: “The Argentine coach received the call from the Atlético Nacional board and is the top favorite of the board to keep the position. The proposal is on the table and it will be defined with the run of the hours. There are already official contacts between both parties,” published the newspaper Olé.
Crespo would then be the main candidate because he fits in with the idea of the green game and apart from that he has a Copa Sudamericana title with Defense and Justice that accredits him as the winner at a critical moment for the Antioquia club. His most recent experience was Sao Paulo in Brazil, where he left following nine months in office.
But it would not be the only name in the folder: as a foreigner, Alfredo Arias, the Uruguayan who directed Deportivo Cali and who, according to Rafael Dudamel himself, sowed the seed of the tenth star, also signed up.
Among the local options, two names are discussed in Medellín, which would not be easy because they have current contracts: Hernán Torres, current DT of Deportes Tolima and who would hardly leave the ship following putting together a stellar roster to fight for the Copa Libertadores; and Alberto Gamero, coach of Millonarios, who just faces Fluminense this Tuesday to look for the feat since he already lost the first leg in Bogotá.
A candidate who is free, who led the Colombian National Team, knows the training process that interests the green and has already led a great like Junior, is coach Arturo Reyes.
There is talk of the option of Reinaldo Rueda if this same month of March Colombia’s elimination from the Qatar World Cup is consummated, but it seems unlikely that he will return due to the way in which he left, despite having won the Copa Libertadores in 2016 and having been a finalist in the Copa Sudamericana.
For now it is all speculation but, from what is said of first contacts, the favorite would be a foreigner.