Santiago Solari emerges as candidate to coach River Plate from 2027

Santiago Solari has been added to the list of candidates to take over at River Plate from 2027. The 49-year-old Real Madrid director of football appears in reports coming out of Argentina as one of the options being considered by the club's hierarchy to lead the new project that will start in January, once Leonardo Ponzio's interim spell comes to an end.

• Argentine media have named Santiago Solari as one of the candidates to take the River Plate job in 2027.
• River will appoint a new head coach in January after Leonardo Ponzio remains in charge until December.
• Solari has already coached Real Madrid's first team and later managed Club América in Mexico.
• Gerardo Martino, Ramón Díaz, Hernán Crespo, Gabriel Heinze and Gabriel Milito are also on the agenda.
• Lionel Scaloni is the board's greatest wish if he leaves his role with the Argentina national team.

Solari's Real Madrid future in doubt once again

Solari's name carries extra weight because his continuity within the Spanish club's structure was already uncertain. In recent weeks there has been talk of him potentially leaving his role as director of football and even ending his time at Real Madrid this summer. That scenario, combined with the interest now emerging from Buenos Aires, opens a new chapter in his professional future.

His connection to Real Madrid runs deep. As a player he wore the white shirt between 2000 and 2005, winning two La Liga titles and one Champions League, and as a coach he led the first team during the 2018-2019 season after working his way through the club's academy ranks.

River want a new coach in January as Solari enters the frame

Following the departure of Eduardo Coudet, Leonardo Ponzio took over the team on an interim basis. River's plan is to keep him in charge until December and then launch a new era in January with a coach of greater experience. That is the vacancy Solari is targeting, with a profile that blends European experience, time in Mexican football and an understanding of what it means to lead clubs under maximum pressure.

After his spell in the Real Madrid dugout, Solari moved to Club América, giving him the chance to manage in Liga MX and to get closer to Latin American football. His subsequent return to the Spanish club as football director closed a cycle that could now open again with an adventure at the Monumental.

The race for the River job: from Martino to Scaloni

Solari is not the only name in the frame for the River bench. Gerardo Martino, Ramón Díaz, Hernán Crespo, Gabriel Heinze and Gabriel Milito are also mentioned in the Argentine press as realistic alternatives. All of them arrive with established track records and, in several cases, with direct experience in Argentine football.

The River hierarchy dreams of Lionel Scaloni as the headline appointment for the bench if he decides to end his cycle in charge of the Argentina national team.

That scenario would top the list, but it also shows that the final decision could take time. Until Scaloni's future becomes clearer, names such as Solari will continue to be discussed in the corridors of Núñez.

What Solari could bring to River Plate

Solari's candidacy is built on several solid arguments. He knows elite European football, has experienced the pressure of coaching Real Madrid and gained additional experience at Club América, one of Mexico's most demanding clubs. His profile fits the idea of a young coach capable of managing top-level dressing rooms and developing academy players, something he already showed at Valdebebas.

His time as director of football has also broadened his perspective beyond the day-to-day work on the touchline, an asset often valued in rebuilding projects like the one River are planning for the start of 2027.

Frequently asked questions about Solari and a possible move to River