Having finished third in the Copa Libertadores group and reaching the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana, the Santiago del Estero team closed the Torneo Clausura by reaching the quarter-finals, although it will not play in international cups next year. Meanwhile, to begin his seventh cycle as a coach, the fifth in Argentine football, Lucas Pusineri arrived in Santiago del Estero and was confirmed as the new manager of Central Córdoba. A former player for Independiente and River Plate, among others, he began his coaching career in 2018 with a great campaign at Cúcuta Deportivo in the Colombian Primera B, winning the championship in his only season at the club. The following year he moved to Deportivo Cali, where he earned 50% of the points after 64 matches, before joining the “Rojo” for the 2019-2020 season. Pusineri signed with Independiente on December 23, 2019, replacing Sebastián Beccacece. He had to take over the Avellaneda club at a time of debts and bans and reached the quarter-finals of the Sudamericana and the championship phase of the Maradona Cup (2020 League Cup), although he resigned in early 2021 after a streak of poor results. His next step was at Atlético Tucumán, where he came close to glory in 2022: he was league leader for 12 rounds, but lost the top spot with four games to go, including a 2-1 defeat to Boca Juniors, who would end up as champions. Despite his great campaign, the “Decano” was one point short of qualifying for the Copa Sudamericana zone. His cycle was extended for another year, but the results stopped going his way and he decided to resign in June 2023. In the second half of that year he arrived at Tigre, with three wins, four draws, and five defeats in 12 matches, with a poor but sufficient campaign to save the category. Buenos Aires, December 5 (NA) -- Central Córdoba de Santiago del Estero has confirmed its new coach for the 2026 season: Lucas Pusineri. According to the Argentine News Agency, the 49-year-old coach comes to replace Omar De Felippe, 2024 Copa Argentina champion with the Santiago del Estero institution, who decided not to renew his contract, which expires at the end of the year. Pusineri arrives after a year of ups and downs at Atlético Tucumán, where he achieved 10 wins, four draws, and 14 defeats in 28 matches, managing to save the category in the Primera División of Argentine football. His official presentation at the albinegro club will take next Friday, December 12, at the Alfredo Terrera stadium. The image with which Central Córdoba presented Pusineri. Argentine News Agency/@cacc_sde. The “Ferroviario” comes off a good season, consolidating the best years of its history with De Felippe in charge. He was dismissed at the end of the year. After a year without a job, Pusineri returned to Tucumán in the fifth round of this year's Torneo Apertura and, although he managed to keep the team in the Primera, a poor goal-scoring record in the averages, plus certain salary delays, led him to resign from his post in late October.
