Atlético near deal for Argentine coach Martín Anselmi, ex-Porto | OneFootball

Atlético is close to announcing its new coach. According to journalist André Hernan, the Argentine manager Martín Anselmi, 40, is expected to take charge of the team following Cuca’s departure. The deal has not yet been made official, and contractual details have not been disclosed, but the expectation is that the formalization will occur in the coming days.

Anselmi built his international reputation with remarkable stints at Independiente del Valle, in Ecuador. At the Ecuadorian club, he won the 2022 Copa Sudamericana, defeating São Paulo in the final, and the 2023 Recopa Sudamericana, overcoming Flamengo. In 2024, the Argentine accepted the challenge of managing Cruz Azul, in Mexico, and stood out enough to attract the attention of Porto, in Portugal. However, his experience at the Portuguese club was not as positive: after an early elimination in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Anselmi was dismissed from the European team.

Although he has never managed a club in Brazil, Anselmi is familiar with Brazilian football: he was Miguel Ángel Ramírez’s assistant coach at Internacional during the 2021 season. His last experience as an assistant, before officially becoming a head coach, was leading Unión La Calera, in Chile, the following year.

The Argentine is known for his intense style of play, marked by high pressing and quick ball recovery. His teams usually play with compact defensive lines, alternating between a 3-4-3—which transforms into a 4-2-3-1 in defensive transitions—and a 3-5-2, with two mobile forwards who switch between central and wide positions. The full-backs play a fundamental offensive role, acting as wing-backs to ensure superiority on the flanks, while the team relies on verticality to quickly reach the final third of the field.

Anselmi’s arrival at Atlético could represent a strategic shift. The club had been struggling to find tactical consistency under Cuca, who was unable to get the best performance out of the squad.

Among the new coach’s challenges is the need to make adjustments to the roster, which has some important gaps: the absence of center-backs capable of starting plays from the back and the lack of midfielders able to perform the “lose-press” without the ball, which is applied when the opponent is in offensive transition.

In addition to tactical restructuring, Anselmi will also be tasked with recovering players who have experienced wear and tear over the course of the season. His arrival may also represent an opportunity to instill a more aggressive and modern playing identity, aligned with the profile of contemporary coaches who prioritize intensity.

The expectation, if the deal goes through, is that the Argentine will bring to Galo a more organized and efficient style of play, capable of maximizing the potential of attacking players and offering more consistent defensive solutions.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.