He’s the usual firefighter. The one who is always there to save when the potatoes burn. He is the one who, because he is an employee of the club but also because of the love he feels for San Martín, could never refuse to lead the team when they need him. Raúl Antuña spoke after directing the second training session, warning that he would make several changes and clarified that despite the fans’ request and his personal desire, this time the interim will be brief taking into account that he is the manager of the club.
The departure of Andrés Yllana took him by surprise. The now ex DT of Verdinegro told Antuña about his departure on Wednesday at noon, although “Purruco” tried to convince him, the coach had already made his decision and at 5:00 p.m., half an hour before practice, he showed up to say goodbye of the campus “He took us by surprise because on Monday we had spoken and we had given him the confidence to be calm but neither the leadership nor I, much less the players, expected it,” Purruco opened.
“I’m in a function that I have to put my chest into because I’m a club employee, I’m going to do it as many times as necessary. For me it’s a pleasure but unlike the previous time, this time it’s for a game,” Antuña said. . It is that his role as manager covers all soccer in San Martín, both the First National squad, as well as the First Local and the Inferior. “This was discussed with the leadership, there were chances of having to take over temporarily if things did not go well, but now it is something else. It will not extend beyond Sunday because it does not seem logical to me that he has left the club and that after being manager now return to the ring”, commented the DT.
Antuña says that in 24 hours he received hundreds of messages from fans and friends of San Martín asking him to continue as the official coach. “I am grateful for the affection of the people and of many fans who ask me to continue. If you ask me what I like the most, of course I love directing but now I am in another place, comfortable and happy”assured who last year also had to take over on an interim basis at the beginning of the tournament and although he had a wonderful campaign in Concepción, the visitor results were not good.
“Unlike last year, this time I have to direct a team that I know and that knows me because we share the day to day,” he says, adding that he will make changes for this Sunday’s clash against Defensores de Belgrano. “The team really wants to work and on Sunday to win why not. Hopefully we can give it to us. We have tried variants and surely in Buenos Aires there will be a different team than last Saturday,” he said.
The club’s manager said that he dedicated himself to working with the squad and that he did not speak with president Jorge Miadosqui regarding Yllana’s possible successor. What Antuña did affirm is that he fully trusts the existing football material. “The idea is to fight, I am convinced that the tournament is even and San Martín has what to fight with, that is the idea and the mentality, with that desire this squad was put together,” said the DT interim that on Sunday his team will, at least for those 90 minutes, leave everything on the field and reap something outside of San Juan.
