If one had dared to single out Vélez Sarsfield as Liga Profesional de Fútbol front-runners prior to the Copa América break, they would have attracted some very strange looks. But not only are the Liniers side sitting pretty at the top of the table, if they keep up their current form they might just run away with their first title since 2013.
A sparkling run of six wins in seven games following the league restart, culminating in Monday’s 5-0 demolition of Barracas Central, has left Vélez ahead of Huracán on goal difference at the summit. Were it not for a spirited comeback by Banfield, who fought from two goals down to steal a draw three weeks ago, the Fortín would have a perfect seven from seven, as well as a dominant victory over San Lorenzo to reach the quarter-finals of the Copa Argentina. There is still a long way to go in both competitions, but right now a league-cup double looks more than a possibility for this year’s Copa Liga finalists.
All of which looked very unlikely indeed going back to 2023, when Vélez finished fourth from bottom in the Liga and picked up just 49 points across the year – the same tally as 2024 having played 15 more games. Not even the arrival of club legend Ricardo Gareca could stir a revival in Liniers. The four-time Primera División champion coach lasted less than three months in the hot seat, amid reports of dressing room divisions and a disastrous run of results which left the team close to the relegation zone before pulling away from danger under successor Sebastián Méndez.
This year’s revival then came under an unlikely hero figure.
Gustavo Quinteros is one of those continent-crossing utility men that only occasionally pops up in the local news. The Santa Fe native has spent the best part of the last four decades away from Argentina, first as a player where he found success as a defender in Bolivia – even making the squad for the nation’s only World Cup tilt in 1994 after taking citizenship – and subsequently on the bench.
Quinteros has been employed by 11 different clubs in seven countries, and upon taking the role vacated by Méndez at the start of the year returned to work in Argentina for the first time since a short spell with San Martín de San Juan back in 2007. But he boasts a sustained record of success, winning top-flight titles in Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador, marking him out alongside Marcelo Gallardo and Racing’s Gustavo Costas (eight titles spread across Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador) as one of the Liga’s most decorated trainers.
Having successfully healed the supposed rift between young and old in the Vélez first team, Quinteros has gone from strength-to-strength as the year has progressed. That blend, so crucial in previous strong Fortín sides, has caught fire as of late, as veterans Braian Romero (fully recovered from his difficult River stint) and Claudio Aquino have led the way for rookies like Thiago Fernández, Cristian Ordóñez and Joaquín García to follow.
Just as crucial as Romero and Aquino’s goals has been a formidable backline, marshalled by Emanuel Mammana. The former River prospect drew derision when he admitted that he chose struggling Vélez over Racing because of the easier commute when his Millonario comeback turned sour, but he has been a defensive titan since returning from a muscle tear after the Copa break, one of the reasons Vélez have kept six clean sheets in the Liga in their last seven games.
The question now, as always in Argentine football, is how long can it last? As soon as a club like Vélez breaks out there is no shortage of clubs ready to swipe their best assets. This time starting with the coach, as recent rumours link Quinteros with Diego Martínez’s unsteady post at Boca. It is part of the game, as vexing to supporters as that may be: but Vélez are determined to keep the man with the golden touch exactly where he is, in the hope that he can keep up this winter revival and bring the glory days back to Liniers.
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