His success attracted attention from teams in other countries, notably from Mexico. After leaving Newell's Old Boys, Gallego was sought after by a myriad of clubs, including San Lorenzo de Almagro, but chose CD Toluca in Mexico. Despite being overtly criticized by the media and his team's own fans for his defensive style and benching of established players in favor of younger, inexperienced players – his scheme paid off and Toluca won the Apertura 2005 championship in Mexico, and was named Best Coach of the championship. In 2007 Gallego resigned as coach for Toluca and said he wanted some time off to be with his family and be away from soccer for a while. His time off did not last long, as a juicy offer from Tigres UANL made him change his mind and take over for Mario Carrillo as coach. After an unsuccessful spell and a streak of bad results he was sacked in February 2008.