There are moments in football when the world feels like it’s spinning too fast, games piling up, injuries mounting, pressure climbing like smoke from a burning stand and yet, in those chaotic stretches, I always found my clearest purpose as a player. Now, as a manager, that feeling has returned. These last weeks with Huracán have tested every fibre of my being. But they’ve also reminded me why I fell in love with this club, this game, this life.

Let me take you through the battles, one by one.

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Copa Sudamericana – Vasco da Gama (A)

Brazil is another universe when it comes to football. The air is heavy, the stadiums breathe, and the opponents… they play with a swagger you can’t manufacture.

I rotated:
De La Fuente out, Guidara in. Pérez out, Waller in. Bisanz out, Alanis in.

Facing Coutinho and Rayan was always going to be a storm, but the first half felt like a hurricane.
Nine shots to zero.
Zero.
But we survived. We held. For 45 minutes we defended like men possessed.

In the second half we stepped up. Gil swung in a corner, and Fabio Pereyra rose, 1-0 Huracán. A punch straight to Rio de Janeiro’s jaw.

Coutinho, though… class is eternal. One pass, Rayan levels.

But we weren’t the same timid team from the first half. Six shots of our own, control, composure, courage.

A well-earned draw in Brazil. And I felt the first flicker of belief that this group could be dangerous.

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A Return That Felt Like a Signing

The next day, the medical staff came in smiling, always a good sign.

Lucas Carrizo—27 years old, left-footed centre-back, out 5 months with an ACL tear, back in light training.

With the transfer embargo, with my ageing defence, with the lapses we’ve suffereD, he feels like a blessing.

We’ll need him.

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Torneo Apertura – Central Córdoba (H)

Fatigue is beginning to creep into my squad, the ugly kind, the kind you only see in their eyes.

So I rotated heavily:
Paz, De La Fuente, Ojeda, Pérez, Bisanz, Chiquichano rested.

And then, madness.

45 seconds: Guidara cross, Cabral knockdown, Miljevic rockets in.
Five minutes: Pereyra → Guidara → Alanis → Miljevic again.

In five minutes, the game felt over.

We dominated, managed minutes, brought back Sequeira, trusted Nervo, Ríos, Ojeda. I could feel the group growing, trust forming, the system breathing.

Five minutes left: Waller wins it, Ríos floats it, Guidara cuts back, Miljevic hat-trick.
3-0.
Rotation and victory.

Up to 2nd place, one behind Aldosivi. Five unbeaten.
Huracán was rising.

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BREAKING NEWS: Bisanz Out 4 Months

Twelve goals. Nine assists. My dynamite in the final third.

A hip injury. Four months gone.

I felt the weight of it in my chest. But I couldn’t show it. Leaders don’t sulk. Leaders solve.

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Defensa y Justicia (A)

Only two changes.
Young Mariano Riegel promoted—18 years old. Pure hunger.

27’ Alanis presses, steals, bends one into the top corner 1-0.
38’ Miljevic → Chiquichano, lovely turn—2-0.
45’ Zabala rises from a Gil corner—3-0.

54’ Guidara flying down the flank again, Cabral taps in —4-0.

Debut for Riegel. More rotations. Clean sheet sealed.

Top of the table.
Qualified for Round of 16.

Momentum. Momentum everywhere.

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Copa Sudamericana – Palestino (H)

Injuries everywhere, Miljevic and De La Fuente both out. More kids stepping up. Campo (20) on the bench, Thiago Omar Pérez (19) in the squad, Babino too.

But the boys didn’t blink.

2’: Waller → Gil, 1-0.
20’: Ibañez → Cabral, curled beauty—2-0.
45’: Our first penalty of the season, Pereyra scores—3-0.
46’: Ibañez cross, Alanis header—4-0.

Debuts, rest, rotations, composure.

Seven points from nine in the Sudamericana.
Nine unbeaten overall.
Three straight clean sheets.

A team discovering itself.

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Injury List Grows

Ríos out 2 months.
Galíndez out 2 weeks.
Soto out 2 months.
Facundo Sánchez, so promising, out 2 months.

Football sometimes tests your depth not with matches, but with pain.

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Youth Intake – A Glimpse of Tomorrow

Five elite prospects.
Four top.
Six good.
Four decent.

But one name stands out like a flare in the dark:

Agustín Moreyra, 16.
Winger/striker.
Raw. Explosive. Hungry.

There is something special there. You can feel it.

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Newell’s Top-of-the-Table Clash

Aldosivi won earlier, putting pressure on us. Newell’s two points behind. Boca lurking.

De La Fuente and Miljevic return. Bench full of kids. Faith full of hope.

9’: Gil → Alanis → De La Fuente—1-0.
37’: Ibañez tears down the flank, low cross, Chiquichano tucks in—2-0.

Perfect first half.

But football is cruel.

54’: Orozco slaloms, scores—2-1.
Minutes later they destroy Ibañez on the wing—2-2.

60’: Riegel for Alanis. Sequeira for Chiquichano. Sambade debut.

66’: Sambade scores on his debut—FROM 30 YARDS.
What a strike.
A moment he’ll tell his grandchildren about.

71’: Orozco again, carving us open—3-3.

End to end. Wild. Emotional.

But the point keeps us top on goal difference.

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Final Jornada – Barracas Central

Win and we top the Torneo Apertura.

We start brilliantly, chance after chance but can’t break through until:

40’: Alanis brilliance → Chiquichano slide pass → Miljevic tap-in. 1-0.

But five minutes into the second half:
Cleared corner → Their midfielder volleys top corner. 1-1.

60’: Cabral injured, replaced by Urzi. Pérez on for Waller.
70’: Guidara & Riegel on.
Late red card for them… but we can’t find the final blow.

1-1.

But then the news hits:
Aldosivi drew.
We win the opening stage on goal difference.

Champions of the Torneo Apertura’s regular season.

Playoffs next.
Tucumán in Round of 16.

Three more group games this month.
Injuries. Fatigue. Pressure.
And the European window opening soon, will someone try to take our stars?

I don’t know.

But I do know this:

Huracán is alive. Huracán is believing. Huracán is burning again.

Menotti’s spirit walks these halls… and these boys, my boys, play with that same fire.

This is just the beginning.
And I, Gabriel Batistuta, have never felt more alive in football.