In January 2011 Sebastián Méndez was named manager of the club. Banfield finished eighth in the 2011 Clausura and started the following tournament (2011 Apertura) losing four consecutive matches, which led to Méndez's resignation. After some provisional replacements as coaches, Ricardo La Volpe was chosen as new manager. La Volpe was fired only three months after his hiring. He had been involved in some controversies with some representative players of the institution, who even called president Carlos Portell to tell him they "Could not stand La Volpe anymore".