Eduardo Méndez will take his time to choose Pablo Peirano's replacement: 'He is a gentleman'

Santa Fe is looking for a coach after its failure in the Copa Libertadores. The cardenales lost in a penalty shootout against Deportes Iquique, from Chile, after having tied the second phase series.

The lack of effectiveness from the 12 steps punished León very hard and ended up costing the job of Uruguayan Pablo Peirano, who was already under criticism from fans for what happened in the final of the 2024-I League, in which he lost against Bucaramanga, and the poor second-seeded quadrangular, to which he arrived as a top seed.

In the statement issued by Santa Fe to announce Peirano's departure, it was said that they were looking for a coach with 'Cardinal DNA'. And press reports have already begun to mention some names.

Santa Fe President Eduardo Méndez gave an interview to La Polémica, on Caracol Radio, on Wednesday, in which he spoke about many topics. One of them was one of the candidates who began to be mentioned, Alberto Gamero, former coach of Millonarios, who was ready to join the red team in 2019 and finally did not join.

At that time, Méndez put Harold Rivera in charge while Gamero finished his work with Deportes Tolima and had to leave him in the position due to the good end of the campaign. "He (Gamero) recommended Harold Rivera to me and left him without a position in December, in January he was already at Millonarios," said the director.

Is Gamero a candidate for Santa Fe? The director said that there have been no contacts. "He is a coach that we had easily arranged that time. I don't know how much it will cost today, I haven't spoken to him," he said.

Méndez insisted on the idea of ​​the 'Cardinal DNA'. "We are going to outline what style of coach we need, we cannot take steps lightly. The Peirano thing happened slowly but surely. There are some who have an advantage, others who have a disadvantage," he explained.

Regarding the rumors about the possible arrival of Rafael Dudamel, coach who won the championship with Bucaramanga last year and with Deportivo Cali in 2021, Méndez was clear: "I have never spoken to him, the last time I saw him was in the final in Bucaramanga. I greeted him, but I have never spoken to him," he stressed.

"Kevin Cuesta's businessman offered him to me, he offered him to me today (Wednesday) at 7 pm," Méndez added about Dudamel.

There is one name that Méndez ruled out outright: Lucas González. "González, no. He signed a contract and left me abandoned," he said.

In December 2022, González had been announced as Harold Rivera's technical assistant. Less than a month later, he left the team and signed as coach of Águilas Doradas.

Méndez was asked about the budget to hire the new coach. "The cost is a variable, not a condition. We can aspire to a coach who can be paid, I don't know what is expensive," he said, and assured that he had more than 100 resumes.

Regarding Peirano's departure, Méndez said that it was done on good terms. "The decision was made at 3 in the afternoon when we met. I don't think he was thinking about leaving last night (Tuesday) nor were we thinking about him leaving," he said.

"The meeting lasted 10, 15 minutes, and we came to a conclusion. We sat down, looked at what was coming, what the pressure was like, and decided that we had to depressurize the team. What a gentleman Peirano is, as is (Ricardo) Gareca. Ah, gentlemen. I wish everyone was like them," he insisted.