Nacional fires Jorge Bava as head coach after loss to Racing

The loss to Racing was the last straw for whatever patience remained at Los Cespedes. Just days after the board had ratified Jorge Bava in his position, Nacional made a complete about face and decided to end his run as head coach. Going with him are his assistants, Sebastian Eguren and Martin Liguera, who submitted their resignations and had them accepted by the club.

President Ricardo Vairo was the one who stepped forward to explain a decision that, as he admitted, had not been easy to reach behind closed doors. He spoke of self-criticism, of searching for answers that still haven't fully come into view.

We had a board meeting, we're going through a pretty tough moment, hard to explain, trying to be self-critical, trying to find the explanations for how we got here. After the break we put together a whole plan and we were pretty excited about it, but the way the matches played out hasn't shown that change, and as you know, today we made the decision that Jorge Bava and his staff will not continue in charge of the club. I also met with Sebastian Eguren and Martin Liguera, who submitted their resignations and we've decided to accept themRicardo Vairo

What changed between the ratification and the firing in such a short span? Basically, it was what happened on the field. Vairo was asked directly about what he saw in the match against Racing, the one that ended up tipping the scales, and he didn't mince words: there was no improvement.

"What everyone sees is that you have to see the confidence placed in the work reflected on the field, in the matches. That wasn't seen in the last game, we didn't see any positive change and we felt it was very unlikely this would turn around," the president explained, making clear that the decision wasn't impulsive but rather the conclusion of a process that had already been chipping away at the club's confidence in Bava's work.

Still hasn't spoken with Bava

Strikingly, at the time of his remarks, Vairo still hadn't had direct contact with the now former coach. The communication went through Eguren, and the face to face meeting was set for Monday morning.

"I haven't spoken with Jorge Bava yet. Sebastian Eguren reached out, and I agreed to meet with him Monday morning. We're all fans and members of Nacional and we know that each of us, from our own role, is trying to do everything possible to move the club forward," Vairo said, appealing to that sense of belonging that, in his view, runs through everyone inside the club.

What's curious, and what makes this whole crisis harder to swallow, is that not even the president himself can find a clear, solid explanation for the poor results. He talks about a squad that, on paper, is capable of much more than what's being shown week after week.

"We talked with everyone and it's very hard to explain because we believe we have a squad capable of much more than what we're seeing on the field. Right now we're addressing the urgent issues to turn this around in the short term and start working for the medium and long term," he added.

On the players' share of responsibility for this string of poor results, Vairo was just as direct. He acknowledged their commitment but also put his finger on a wound that seems more mental than physical.

"I know for a fact the players are very worried, they know the responsibility is entirely theirs. I hear and see the intensity they bring onto the field, but there's clearly something psychological going on that causes any setback in a match to shift the energy, and the team stops being what Nacional has to be on the field," the president stated, laying out the challenge that whoever takes over the team will now have to face.