Leonel Álvarez

Leonel Álvarez

Leonel Álvarez (right) with former Medellín mayor, Sergio Fajardo (left)
Personal information
Full name	Leonel de Jesús Álvarez Zuleta
Date of birth	July 30, 1965 (1965-07-30)
Place of birth	Remedios, Colombia
Playing position	defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1983–1987	Independiente Medellín
1988–1989	Atlético Nacional
1990	América de Cali
1990–1992	Real Valladolid	35	(0)
1992–1995	América de Cali
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)
National team
1985–1995	Colombia	101	(1)
Teams managed
2008–2010	Independiente Medellín
2011	Colombia
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Leonel de Jesús Álvarez Zuleta (born July 30, 1965 in Remedios, Colombia) is a former Colombian football defensive midfielder. He played 101 times for the Colombia national team between 1985 and 1995, making him the 2nd most capped player in Colombian international football. He was also the head coach of Colombia national football team [1]

On the pitch, Leonel was known for his intense physical defense, which made him very popular among the Colombian fans.

Club career

Álvarez 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 first year with the team, Álvarez was clearly one of the league's best players, as he scored three goals and five assists for the team from a defensive midfield position, and was named to the MLS Best XI. Unfortunately for the Burn, Álvarez moved to Mexico for the 1997 season, where he played for Veracruz. He did not return until 1998, when he quickly 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, was traded to the New England Revolution for Ariel Graziani. Álvarez would play for the Revolution through 2001, always an important starter, before the team decided not to renew his contract for the 2002 season.

Late in his career, he returned to Colombia football, where he played in Colombia for Deportes Quindío and for Deportivo Pereira.

International career

Álvarez appeared in a total of 101 games for the Colombia, making his debut February 14, 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 Copa América for his native country in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1995.

After retirement

Álvarez has maintained a low profile since retiring, but has been back in the limelight in appearances in Colombian reality shows such as "La Isla de los Famosos."

Coaching career

He has held the position of 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 Escobars understudy. After bad results Escobar was fired and finishing dead last Leonel was promoted and given his first head coach opportunity. In his debut season as a coach, he helped make DIM 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. He got off to a good start by crushing Bolivia, but was sacked on December 14 that year after the Colombian squad recored a 1-1 draw with Venezuela and a 2-1 loss with Argentina in the World Cup qualifying campaign.

External links

• Career details at National Football Teams
• International statistics at rsssf