Talleres names Omar De Felippe as new head coach after Sampaoli's exit

Five points out of a possible 21. That's the number that sums up Talleres' crisis, and the one that ultimately buried Jorge Sampaoli's tenure. Carrying that weight, the Cordoba club went looking for a lifeline and found it in a familiar name in Argentine soccer: Omar De Felippe, who was confirmed as the new head coach through the club's official social media channels.

Sampaoli's departure was as swift as it was striking. The coach from Casilda was in charge of the squad for less than three months, and in that span he only managed to lead the team in seven matches, since the break for the Club World Cup and preseason ate up a good chunk of the calendar. It's rare to see a coaching stint end so quickly, with so little room to show anything.

Now it's up to De Felippe, 64, to try to stop the slide. The coach will sign a contract through the end of 2027 and took charge of training in Cordoba starting this Wednesday. There's no time to waste: next Saturday Talleres visits San Lorenzo, and that debut promises to be an immediate trial by fire.

A tough starting point

The situation De Felippe inherits is far from simple. Talleres sits last in Zone A with those five points from 21 played, a haul that leaves it well outside playoff position. For some perspective, Boca, which occupies the last qualifying spot, has double that point total.

The other front the club has to fight on is qualification for international competitions, something taken very seriously in Cordoba. There, the 'T' sits in 18th place in the annual standings, six points behind Instituto, which currently holds the last available spot. That long-distance "Cordoba derby" adds extra pressure to a start that already looked like an uphill climb.

De Felippe knows well the urgency of this kind of process: he's arriving at a battered squad, with little margin for error and an obligation to pick up points quickly to stay in contention on both fronts that matter to the fans. The matchup against San Lorenzo will be just the first of many tests in a calendar that offers no breathing room.