Sampaoli out at Talleres after just seven matches and a rough run of results that wore him down

Seven matches. That's all it took for Jorge Sampaoli's dream of coaching in Argentine soccer to end, after years of waiting for the chance. This Sunday confirmed what had already seemed inevitable: the coach from Casilda parted ways with Talleres de Cordoba, doing so with a message full of frustration that he posted on social media just hours after the news broke.

The final blow came Saturday night, when Talleres drew 0-0 with Central Cordoba de Santiago del Estero at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes. That result left the Cordoba side stuck in last place in Zone A of the 2026 Torneo Clausura, and that's when everyone's patience finally ran out. The numbers from his tenure tell the story: in 7 matches, Talleres won just 1, drew 2 (the last two outings) and lost 4.

Sampaoli didn't dodge the blow. In his farewell message, he admitted that the failure hurt him in a way that went beyond soccer itself.

It hurts me so much because I've wanted to coach in Argentine soccer for yearsJorge Sampaoli

The former Argentina national team manager at the 2018 World Cup in Russia went further, explaining how he experienced these months behind closed doors at the club. He spoke of putting in the work, mind and body, to find solutions that, in this case, never came.

We couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. And in the middle of all this, there's a club and a lot of fans who, rightly, are waiting for things to work. That wears down the time you have. It's sad. For the good of the club, that's what leads me to step aside

In the same message, he wanted to make clear that the squad's commitment was never in question, from the youth ranks up to the first team. "Let's not get confused: nobody is a worse person for accepting the bad moments. What remains is the feeling. This badge deserves a much better story than the one it's living right now," he wrote, before closing with a wish of good luck for the club.

The club's response

Talleres, for its part, publicly thanked Sampaoli and his entire coaching staff, made up of Pablo Fernandez, Diogo Meschine Alves, Marcos Fernandez and Tadeu Meschine Alves. The official statement highlighted "the professionalism and commitment during this stretch in charge of the First Team, which everyone had different expectations for in terms of results," and pointed to the coach's bond with the players and his contribution to the club's youth development program.

The Cordoba club also clarified that, "honoring his commitment and his word," Sampaoli and his staff will be paid through their last day worked, and said that in the coming days the name of whoever takes over the professional squad for the rest of the tournament will be announced.

It's worth remembering that Sampaoli had signed an 18-month contract and had become the most expensive coach in Talleres' history. That deal, designed to sustain a medium-term project, was cut short almost as soon as it began, a victim of a standings table that gave no quarter.