Few foreign soccer players left a mark on Brazilian soccer like Andrés D’Alessandro did. The Argentine triumphed like no one else at the International, where he became an idol for life. Today he continues to live in Brazil, although far from Porto Alegre.
At the beginning of the year, D’Ale assumed the position of professional soccer coordinator at Cruzeiro, where he was hired thanks to Ronaldo Nazário, with whom he has a great relationship. After several months of working in silence, he spoke to the media for the first time about his new role in Belo Horizonte.
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Andrés D’Alessandro, motivated by his new role at Cruzeiro
“The fact that Ronaldo is the owner, is the president and has a lot of qualified people, a well-defined line of work and guidelines, made me decide and put things aside, like my family in Porto Alegre. It’s not easy, leaving my three children. But it’s worth it from the professional side. We’re working very hard on a day-to-day basis, it’s a sensational experience,” explained the former Argentine player.
D’Alessandro is in charge of a challenging task as the club looks to get back on its feet after spending three years in the second division. Despite the fact that he never shared a team with The Phenom, they have built a relationship of mutual respect by facing each other on the pitch. Currently, Ronaldo is the majority partner of the Public Limited Company that manages the Belo Horizonte club.
The former River and San Lorenzo, among others, had no relationship with the club, so he values the trust placed in him: “I am in one of the strongest clubs in Brazil, which opened the doors for me to work off the field , to be able to grow and learn things outside of my life as an athlete. I am very grateful to Cruzeiro.”
He also referred to the demands that will lie ahead, which despite not being simple, he believes are on the right track.
“Obviously, football is about results. We must continue the work that the professionals and Ronaldo began last year to rebuild, restructure and reorganize Cruzeiro, also at the grassroots level. An ant job, it will not happen overnight tomorrow we are going to recover such a big club. They managed to rise last year. This year we started the Brasileirão well and we have to continue the work”, he declared.
After 13 rounds, Cruzeiro is 12th in the standings with 18 points. Although today they are in the South American zone, they should not be neglected since they are also located only seven points from the relegation places.
Regarding reinforcements, D’Alessandro clarified that the club will do everything possible to grow but without mortgaging its future: “We believe a lot in the squad, we believe that we can reinforce it too. We believe in the players, in the strong mentality. Our team has to be intense, competitive. We can’t get away from that and we have to go down that path.”
“Cruzeiro is an S.A., it has a significant budget, but not one of the largest in Brazilian football. But the work is being done cautiously, seriously. We know what we can do. Cruzeiro will not do crazy things. I’m not saying this, but Pedro Martins or Gabriel. It is one of the guidelines of the club. This is a basis for serious work. Those who play in Cruzeiro know that they are up to date, that they are going to be paid and that they have a very good structure to work with,” he added.
Regarding the description of his role, D’Alessandro explained that he is in charge of coordinating both the Under-20 team and the professional squad. He has only been in the position for four months, so he is still in a process of learning, discovering and adapting to the position. The days of football are long gone, and today his role is not only far from the field, but also from Porto Alegre.
