Insua returns to San Lorenzo after 880 days amid crisis with seven presidents and five coaches

Rubén Darío Insua is back at San Lorenzo, arriving from the United States on Sunday to take charge of a club that has endured seven presidents and five coaches since his dismissal in April 2024.

San Lorenzo fired Insua after a 2-0 Copa Libertadores defeat to Independiente del Valle. Marcelo Moretti, then the club’s president, and football chief Néstor Ortigoza made the decision on the flight back from Ecuador. Only four months earlier, the club had renewed Insua’s contract for 24 months after a strong spell in which he lifted the team away from relegation danger and led it to the 2023 Copa Sudamericana and the 2024 Copa Libertadores.

The club now plans to officially confirm Insua’s third stint. In the 29 months between his departure and return, San Lorenzo went through Marcelo Moretti, Néstor Navarro, Julio Lopardo, Daniel Matos, Ulises Morales, Sergio Costantino and Marcelo Culotta as presidents. Five coaches also took charge: Leandro Romagnoli, Miguel Ángel Russo, Damián Ayude, Gustavo Álvarez and Néstor Raúl Gorosito.

Insua’s second spell ended after 99 matches, with the team taking 51% of the available points. Leandro Romagnoli, then coach of the reserve team, replaced him. Romagnoli’s tenure included a dramatic Copa Libertadores run that took San Lorenzo into the last 16 and pushed Atlético Mineiro hard, but the team struggled domestically. It suffered a heavy Copa Argentina defeat to Vélez and finished eight points above the annual relegation zone before a 1-1 draw with Godoy Cruz in Mendoza. Francisco Fydriszewski missed a late penalty by attempting a chip that the goalkeeper saved.

Insua now returns with the immediate ambition of reaching the playoffs and qualifying for international cups, as the club tries to move beyond a period marked by sporting, political and financial turmoil.