Reinaldo "Mostaza" Merlo, the coach who ended the 35 years without Racing Club titles at the local level, defined as "beautiful" to have become champion with the Academy, 20 years after that footballing feat.
"Every year that passes, it comes to my mind how beautiful it was to become champion with Racing after so long, because of the celebration of the people, for Racing itself, for the players and for everything I felt on a personal level as a coach" Merlo recalled.
“It happened to us that after the sixth date (0-0 against Belgrano at home) they asked us for the title. The Racing people stopped the bus passing the Pueyrredón Bridge and it took us fifty minutes to get to the stadium”, he continued.
"We tried not to play at the pace of the people, but the fundamental thing was the personality and character of the players who did not get carried away by everything that was asked of them", he continued on one of the reasons why the professional squad was able to maintain the tranquility in the face of the anxiety of the “academic” fans.
“Our idea was to go out and play the games and win, but not at the pace of the people. The players were the ones who absorbed everything. I am the outsider,” he added.
Merlo, current coach of Defensores Unidos de Zárate, recalled one of the talks he had with the squad at the beginning of the second half of the 2001 season.
“When we started the tournament I told the players that when we were at the top of the tournament we didn't have to leave it. We had to continue playing well and, furthermore, the players made a tremendous effort” he expressed.
"We knew what we wanted on the field, the team was tactically well with very good players and character and that's how we got to the end," he continued.
"Mostaza" also highlighted the champion squad in 2001 as a group with "a lot of character and a lot of personality", while highlighting the "balance" that the team had in all sectors of the playing field.
“We were a team with a lot of character and a lot of personality, we attacked inside and out, with (Gerardo) Bedoya and (Martín) Vitali on each flank, Milito on one side, (Maximiliano) Estévez's diagonals, the pressure on the half of (Adrián) Bastia, (Gustavo) Barros Schelotto and (José) Chatruc. The team was well balanced”, he analyzed.
"They complicated us like any team that goes out to look for games, but we were a strong group of character and that also knew how to treat the ball well," he said in reference to one of the virtues of the squad.
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"I started to think that we could be champions after the game we played at home against Colón de Santa Fe, which had a very good team, in which we won 2-1, but one thing is to think about it and another is to crown it," he said about the meeting that from his point of view was a hinge to direct the team to the title after 35 years without achievements at the local level.
Merlo, 71, also recalled the 1-1 draw with Vélez, valid for the 19th. and the last day of the 2001 Apertura tournament, played on December 27 at the José Amalfitani stadium.
“It was 'the game' for us because with a win or draw it would already serve us to be champions. It was not a nice game because Vélez came out to play with everything and on the last play even (Gastón) Sessa -Vélez's goalkeeper- went to head in and despite not having played well we were able to achieve the goal”, he expressed.
"At the end of the game I felt a lot of joy, I ended up stressed, we shared dinner with the boys and to this day I receive the constant affection of the Racing fans", he commented on the moments after having achieved glory as coach of the team of Avellaneda.
The former River Plate central midfielder also spoke about the love that Racing fans have given him every day for twenty years.
"All the love that the Racing fans give me, I live with peace of mind and I will be eternally grateful for the love that I receive every day," he said.
Merlo, finally, made it clear that he would not wear the coach of the first team "albiceleste" again, which he directed in three cycles: 2001/03 (champion), 2006/07 and 2013/14.
"I would not manage Racing again, I did it twice and as a coach I think I've already fulfilled it", concluded "Mostaza".
Reinaldo Merlo currently directs the Club Atlético Defensores Unidos, from the Buenos Aires town of Zárate, a team that plays in the Primera B Metropolitana.
The 2001 champion Racing scored 42 points (one more than their escort River Plate) during the 19 games played in which they had 12 wins, six draws and only one loss (3-1 against Boca Juniors, for the 15th date).