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River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo extends contract

River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo holds his sone Benjamin as he celebrates winning the local soccer tournament at the Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. River defeated Racing 4-0 and became the tournament champions. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Two-time Copa Libertadores winning coach Marcelo Gallardo will remain at Argentina's River Plate for another year after signing a contract extension on Wednesday.

The 45-year-old Gallardo, who reportedly had an offer to become Uruguay's national team coach, has been River's coach for seven years and was recently crowned Argentinian champion with the club for the first time.

“As long as I can choose, I will always choose to be at River," Gallardo said at a press conference as fans honked horns and chanted around the club's headquarters in the Ezeiza neighborhood.

River won its first Argentinian title since 2014 in November. Gallardo has lifted 13 trophies with the club since he joined, including the 2015 and 2018 Copa Libertadores titles.

Gallardo reportedly drew the interest of Uruguay after the contract of veteran coach Óscar Tabárez was terminated in November due to poor results in South American World Cup qualifiers.

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