Leonel Álvarez (footballer, born 1965)
Leonel de Jesús Álvarez Zuleta (born 29 July 1965) is a Colombian football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is the current manager of Categoría Primera A club Deportivo Pereira.[2]
| Álvarez in 2010 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leonel de Jesús Álvarez Zuleta | ||
| Date of birth | 29 July 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Remedios, Colombia | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Deportivo Pereira (manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983–1986 | Independiente Medellín | 189 | (3) |
| 1987–1989 | Atlético Nacional | 42 | (0) |
| 1990 | América de Cali | 0 | (0) |
| 1990–1992 | Real Valladolid | 35 | (0) |
| 1992–1995 | América de Cali | 115 | (5) |
| 1996 | Dallas Burn | 22 | (3) |
| 1997 | Veracruz | 20 | (2) |
| 1998–1999 | Dallas Burn | 48 | (0) |
| 1999–2001 | New England Revolution | 58 | (2) |
| 2002 | Deportivo Pereira | 25 | (1) |
| 2003–2004 | Deportes Quindío | 16 | (0) |
| Total | 570 | (16) | |
| International career | |||
| 1985–1997 | Colombia | 101 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2007 | Deportivo Pereira (assistant) | ||
| 2008–2009 | Independiente Medellín (assistant) | ||
| 2009–2010 | Independiente Medellín | ||
| 2010–2011 | Colombia (assistant) | ||
| 2011 | Colombia | ||
| 2012 | Once Caldas | ||
| 2012 | Itagüí | ||
| 2013–2014 | Deportivo Cali | ||
| 2014 | Veracruz | ||
| 2015–2017 | Independiente Medellín | ||
| 2017–2018 | Cerro Porteño | ||
| 2018–2019 | Club Libertad | ||
| 2022 | Águilas Doradas | ||
| 2023 | Cienciano | ||
| 2024– | Deportivo Pereira | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Álvarez played 101 times for the Colombia national team between 1985 and 1997, making him the third most capped player in Colombian international football.[3] He also served as head coach of the Colombia national team in 2011, and is the only coach to have been champion twice with Independiente Medellín.
Club career edit
Álvarez was born in Remedios, Colombia. He began his career with Independiente Medellín in 1983. In 1989, he was part of the Atlético Nacional team that won the Copa Libertadores in 1989. He won a Colombian league title with América de Cali in 1990 and another in 1995.
He has also played for Veracruz of Mexico and Real Valladolid of Spain.
Álvarez signed with Major League Soccer before the league's inaugural 1996 season, and was allocated to the Dallas Burn. In his year with the team, Álvarez he scored three goals and five assists for the team from a defensive midfield position, and was named as part of the MLS Best XI. Álvarez moved to Mexico for the 1997 season, where he played for Veracruz. He returned to Dallas Burn in 1998, where he recovered his starting position; Álvarez would be an extremely important player in the Burn's central midfield for the next two years, but near the end of 1999, he was traded to the New England Revolution for Ariel Graziani. Álvarez played for the Revolution throughout 2001 before the team decided not to renew his contract for the 2002 season.
Late in his career, he returned to Colombian football, where he played for Deportes Quindío and for Deportivo Pereira.
International career edit
Álvarez appeared in a total of 101 games for the Colombia, making his debut on 14 February 1985 against Poland. He appeared for Colombia in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, playing in a total of seven games. Additionally, he played in the Copa América for his native country in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1995.
Coaching career edit
Álvarez began his coaching career as technical assistant at Deportivo Pereira, one of his former clubs. In 2008, he worked as the assistant coach at Independiente Medellín, the team he began his career with, working as Santiago Escobar's understudy. After Escobar was fired Álvarez was promoted and given his first head coach opportunity. In his debut season as a coach, he helped make Medellín champions. In May 2010 he was named the assistant coach of the Colombia national team. In September 2011, he was appointed head coach of the team, following the resignation of Hernán Bolillo Gómez.[4] He got off to a good start by beating Bolivia, but was sacked on 14 December that year after the Colombian squad recorded a 1–1 draw with Venezuela and a 2–1 loss with Argentina in the World Cup qualifying campaign. In July 2012, he was appointed as Itagüí's new coach.
Career statistics edit
- Score and result list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Álvarez goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 June 1987 | Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín, Colombia | Ecuador | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Honors edit
Individual
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Leonel Alvarez - Football". Eurosport. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ "Confirmado: Leonel Álvarez es nuevo entrenador de Deportivo Pereira" [Confirmed: Leonel Álvarez is Deportivo Pereira's new coach] (in Spanish). ESPN. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ rsssf: Colombia record international footballers 30 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Leonel Álvarez seguirá en Colombia". ESPN (in Spanish). 8 September 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ Mamrud, Roberto (13 March 2004). "Leonel de Jesús Alvarez – Century of International Appearances". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ All-Star Game flashback, 1996 December 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at MLSsoccer.com
- ^ "1998 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. 2 August 1998. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "2022 Fact & Record Book". Major League Soccer. January 2023. p. 184. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
External links edit
- Leonel Álvarez at National-Football-Teams.com
- International statistics at rsssf
- Leonel Álvarez at FootballDatabase.eu