This Sunday in Avellaneda, San Lorenzo de Almagro face Independiente in a clásico defined by the severe economic crises affecting both clubs. The match finds the azulgranas in 11th place in the Liga Profesional Argentina, with 10 points from eight games, seven behind leaders Vélez Sarsfield.
Rodolfo Chisleanschi, a sports analyst, described the situation. The analyst said that united by deep economic and internal policy crises, two of the until-now recognized big clubs of our football have twisted their respective destinies in the 21st century. His other comment was more direct: "Ooooh, let them all go, let not a single one remain!!!".
A historic institutional crisis
The arrival of Marcelo Culotta to the presidency in June ended a period of institutional turbulence at San Lorenzo. The new leadership found a declared debt of 67,884,000 dollars and 96 open judicial cases. Among the claims is one from former vice president Néstor Navarro for 2,418,793.50 dollars. There are also demands from former executives, players, technical staff, and even a Swiss investment fund that requested the club's bankruptcy.
This financial situation forces a policy of forced sales and minimal purchases. In the last transfer window, the club generated around 4.8 million dollars from the sale of Orlando Gill to France's Lille and Johan Romaña to Mexico's León. The only purchase with money was Danilo Arboleda, from Banfield, for 350,000 dollars. The other five reinforcements arrived on loan at no cost or as free agents.
The fourth era of Insua
Amid this panorama, Rubén Darío Insua took over as coach for the third time in his career and the second in the last five years. He is the fourth coaching change at San Lorenzo during 2026 and the ninth since 2021, in a decade with 15 different managers. His mission is to stabilise a team that shows ups and downs on the pitch.
Recent form is irregular, with two wins, one draw and two defeats in the last five outings (WLDWL). The most recent was a 1-0 win over Talleres de Córdoba on September 5, with a goal from Alexis Cuello in the 63rd minute. However, before that they lost 1-0 to Instituto and drew goalless with Estudiantes de Río Cuarto. The season's goal difference is tight: three scored and five conceded.
A rival in the same storm
Independiente are not faring better. El Rojo, now managed by Uruguayan Jádson Viera, lost three key players in one week: Gabriel Ávalos, Kevin Lomónaco and Maximiliano Gutiérrez. Gross sales totalled around 14.5 million dollars, but the club only received 4.5 million, used to settle debts with Olimpia, Elche, Huachipato and Red Bull Bragantino. Their only expenditure was 120,000 dollars for Franco Calderón, while the rest of the signings came at zero cost.
This clash, therefore, transcends sport. It is the meeting of two institutions fighting to survive their management problems while trying to compete. A win on Sunday would provide key emotional relief for either side.
After this clásico, San Lorenzo will have another big challenge: hosting Boca Juniors, fifth in the table, on September 20 at the Nuevo Gasómetro. Fans can follow the team's full schedule on our fixtures page and check the first-team squad in the squad section.
