Marcelo Gallardo and Ecuador reach final stretch of coaching negotiations

Marcelo Gallardo is moving closer to becoming Ecuador’s next national team coach, but negotiations with federation president Francisco Egas are not yet complete.

The Argentine coach and Egas are negotiating in Madrid over a deal that would put Gallardo in charge of Ecuador for the 2028 Copa América and the qualifiers for the 2030 World Cup. If finalized, he would become the 37th coach in Ecuador’s history.

Discussions on Tuesday focused on sporting matters, where journalist César Luis Merlo reported “many points of agreement.” Merlo also said Gallardo was willing to take charge of La Tri. El Canal del Fútbol said on Wednesday that the coach would not arrive in Ecuador that day, but reported that the talks were progressing toward a full agreement. People directly involved in the negotiations estimated that the deal could be completed within a couple of days.

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Many points of agreement.

Gallardo, 50, began coaching in 2011 at Uruguay’s Nacional, two months after retiring as a professional player. He won the Uruguayan championship in his first season. He later coached River Plate from 2014 to 2022 and again from 2024 to 2026, winning 14 titles, including two Copa Libertadores trophies. One came against Boca Juniors in the disrupted final played in Madrid.

His briefest and least successful spell came at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad, where he worked from November 2023 to July 2024 and left before completing his contract after recording a performance rate below 50 percent. Gallardo has no experience coaching a national side, although he played for Argentina from 1994 to 2003, including at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and the 1995 and 1997 Copa América tournaments.

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The deal could be completed within a couple of days.