El Mono’s reign at the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa lasted for just 15 games.
Germán Burgos is no longer the manager of Newell’s Old Boys after he agreed to a mutual termination of his contract and the contracts of his staff (coaches Armando de la Morena & Ángel Puebla). In a brief statement, the club thanked him for his service and confirmed that his salary will continue to be paid up until the end of his agreed contract.
A defeat against Sarmiento on 17 May in the Copa Argentina sealed his fate (although he did take charge of La Lepra’s final two games in the Copa Sudamericana) but the most painful loss was the 3-0 mauling in the Clásico Rosarino against rivals Rosario Central on 2 May.
El Mono, in his first managerial position since leaving his post as assistant manager to Diego Simeone at Atlético Madrid, managed only 4 wins in his 15 games as manager and presided over a period which saw Newell’s finish bottom of the Copa de la Liga’s Group B, eliminated from the Copa Argentina, and eliminated from the Copa Sudamericana.
His tenure will be remembered as one of huge instability, in his team selection, tactics and decisions. He wasn’t helped by an ongoing injury crisis which meant Germán Burgos was forced to give a large number of youth team players their professional debuts as experienced men like Franco Escobar, Santiago Gentiletti, Jerónimo Cacciabue, Mariano Bíttolo, Jonatan Cristaldo and Maxi Rodríguez were lost to injury.
The problems at Newell’s run clearly deeper than Burgos’ management and have been compounded by a large ageing squad that has an imbalance between defensive and attacking players. Club elections were meant to be held in April but had to be postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Fan groups are calling for them to be held as soon as possible so that club members can have their say on the leadership.
Lucas Bernardi, the former Newell’s captain who is set to take over as Director of Football following the departure of Sebastián Peratta, is likely to lead the recruitment campaign for the next manager of Newell’s.
If reports are to be believed, the man that the club have their eyes on is Newell’s legend Fernando Gamboa, who was already the Head Coach of the team back in 2008 but has had a nomadic career since then with short managerial stints in both Mexico and Paraguay.
