Coudet stops being coach of River Plate

River Plate announced this Thursday the departure of Eduardo ‘Chacho’ Coudet as a coach, after the elimination in the Copa Sudamericana, in a press conference in which the president of the club, Stefano Di Carlo, revealed that Leonardo Ponzio He will occupy the position on an interim basis.

““We thank you on behalf of the club for this journey and this already uncomfortable situation that you had to manage during this time,” said Di Carlo to Coudet, who participated in the press conference this Thursday and lamented the poor present of the ‘Millonario’.

Coudet, at the goodbye press conference

Coudet, who left the Alavés last March to direct River, he expressed: “We have said from the beginning that there was a process where we were aware that River is something unsustainable without results, and I am the first who set deadlines and was clear that in this club we must win and play well.”

“In the last games we had begun to find good things that were going to be sustained by playing more and more, but the imperative need to sustain it through the results was not given to us,” added Coudet, referring to the six defeats, two draws and just one victory since the restart of the competition after the 2026 World Cup.

“I love the demands of this club, I am grateful to its people, the workers, the managers and my coaching staff. Above all things, I am grateful to the players, without a doubt we have put together a great squad that over time will bring a lot of joy,” Coudet said.

Another former player takes over

President Di Carlo specified that the club’s former midfielder Leonardo Ponzio will be interim coach accompanied by the manager of the reserve team, Marcelo Escudero.

“We believe that you have all the skills and have prepared all this time together with us to manage this transition situation.“Di Carlo said of Ponzio.

This Wednesday River lost on penalties against Indepediente Santa Fe of Colombia in the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana, a very hard blow for the institution’s objectives for the second half of 2026, which invested tens of millions of dollars in strengthening the squad with players like Nicolás Otamendi, Ángel Correa and Thiago Almada.

In July the team led by Coudet surprisingly fell to the humble Aldosivi from Mar del Plata in the Argentine Cup and in the Clausura Tournament it occupies the second-to-last place in group B, with only four points in six games