Before becoming a coach, Gareca was a diligent medical student.
Before becoming a coach, Gareca was a diligent medical student.
And he had the best teacher in the history of Colombian football by his side. It was Gabriel Ochoa Uribe, the living emblem who won everything in Colombian lands, alongside the student he taught the risks and ethics of being a "Doctor". You either live or die for something.
'Don' Gabriel, at 88 years old, remembers in that museum memory every anecdote he lived with Gareca, when the 'Tigre' was a twenty-year-old universitiy student with the desire to conquer the world, -of course-, when he roared in the box with every goal that led him to graduate with honors in '86 and '87 with América de Cali.
Ochoa Uribe won 4 titles as a player, 13 as a coach, and directed the Colombian National Team. (Photo: Vélez)
depor
Two titles were won and that was enough to crystallize a friendship that still endures today despite distance and technology. In fact, Uribe Ochoa doesn't have a Facebook, nor the thousands of Twitter followers that Pep Guardiola has, and he doesn't even send WhatsApp messages to top players around the world. Not at all.
Currently, Uribe doesn't lead the life of a doctor, his second profession, but that of a poet. "I live from memories," he tells us in a phone call, made possible thanks to the gratitude of his children, who now return the care they received as children.
For Gareca, the winner of 13 titles in Colombian football is an idol and the coach who taught him the most about tactics. "He was ahead of his time," acknowledges the coach of the Peruvian National Team, after the surprise that Depor gave him.
Thank you, 'Tigre'! because you taught us the value of life, in the true style of a doctor.
Gareca opens up with Depor: his most intimate revelations after leading Peru to the World Cup [VIDEO]