Businessman Stéfano Di Carlo, 36, was elected River Plate’s new president on Saturday night after winning the Núñez club’s election by a wide margin.
In a historic ballot that saw 25,500 members cast their votes, Di Carlo – representing the ‘Filosofía River’ slate – secured 61.77 percent of the vote, ahead of Carlos Trillo (16.22 percent), Luis Belli (9.68 percent), Daniel Kiper (8.29 percent) and Pablo Lunati (4 percent).
The vice-presidents will be Andrés Ballotta, Ignacio Villarroel and Mariano Taratuty, while the club’s first board member will be Clara D’Onofrio – daughter of former River president Rodolfo D’Onofrio.
River Plate, one of Argentina’s most popular football clubs, celebrated Di Carlo’s victory, which will see him succeed outgoing president Jorge Brito from Monday.
Backed by the incumbent administration, Di Carlo will become the youngest person to lead the club in nearly a century. Only the legendary Antonio Vespucio Liberti, who was aged 32 when he took office in 1933 and later spearheaded the Monumental’s construction, took on the role younger.
A grandson of former River president Osvaldo ‘Titi’ Di Carlo, the new president practically grew up in the corridors of the Monumental. He even attended the secondary school run by the club.
Di Carlo first became involved in River’s leadership through his ties with former club president Rodolfo D’Onofrio, serving as vice-president between 2018 and 2021 – the youngest ever to hold that position, at just 27.
He later became the club’s general secretary under Jorge Brito’s administration, a role he held until his election victory.
Di Carlo holds a degree in business administration and heads Grupo Idix, a holding company with ventures in software development, tax management and communications services.
He triumphed in an electronic vote that set a record for participation, securing 15,960 ballots for his slate. His closest rival, Trillo, trailed with 4,191.
Di Carlo’s first challenge will be addressing the club’s footballing woes after a disappointing season to date. River have failed to win a single title during Marcelo Gallardo’s second spell as coach, though it remains in the fight for the Liga Profesional de Fútbol’s Clausura title.
Though Gallardo remains the most successful manager in River’s history, all of his trophies came in his first stint, which ended in 2022 when he moved to the Middle East for a lucrative spell with Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad.
“Getting back to winning ways is our priority. We’re going through a difficult period that none of us like, and it’s not what we’re used to. We know this isn’t what the fans want. We’ll work on that and make our evaluations at the end of the season,” Di Carlo said in a recent interview.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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