There is trouble brewing in the Argentinian league. After hiring Argentinian legend Marcos Milinkovic as its new head coach to replace Juan Barrial, who signed with Al Jazira, UnTREF did not expect that most of its players, eight in total, would leave the club as a protest in support of Barrial’s assistant Pablo Rico’s, who took the job as an interim before Milinkovic was hired, dismissal.
The 8 players, Liam Arreche, Ignacio Espelt, Lucas Sferrayo, Luis Cortese, Julián López, Tomás Barisic, Santiago Arroyo, Matías Bistoletti and assistant coach Pablo Rico all came from the same club, Club de Amigos, who merged with UNTreF last summer, which would explain the “camaraderie.”
UnTREF almost was dropped out of the league due to not having in its roster the minimum amount of players necessary to field a team in the Argentinian League, if not for the Board of Directors of the Association of Argentine League of Volleyball Clubs (ACLAV) deciding, in an act of solidarity, to allow the team to participate in the tournament by including in its roster unsigned players from its youth teams.
Here is the team’s official note in its official website:
“Due to the resignation of coach Juan Barrial, our institution was forced to seek a replacement, with Pablo Rico temporarily leading the team before we finally confirmed Marcos Milinkovic as head coach. Given this situation, some players decided to abandon the obligations they had assumed at the start of the season.
In the seven years of participation in the National League our institution has been recognized as an example of work, compliance, order, and commitment to the growth of Argentine volleyball. We will continue working with the social incursion of our elite volleyball, which brings with it the participation of more than 300 children who practice the discipline for free in Tres de Febrero.”
UnTREF has already dropped out of the playoffs race in the Argentinian league, as it is currently in 9th place in the league’s standings, with a 5-13 record, with no mathematical chances of reaching the 8th spot.
? Con el apoyo unánime de @VoleyACLAV, @untrefvoley continúa participando de la Liga Argentina 2017/2018. #Hoy y el sábado 3 jugamos de local, te esperamos en el #microestadio de Villa Lynch ? ¡#DaleUNTREF! >> https://t.co/jkIdAwWkTa pic.twitter.com/vNuVZcTlr2
— UNTREF (@UNTREF) February 1, 2018
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