Soccer: The Best Coaches in the Colombian National Team History

The Colombian soccer team has had a total of 40 coaches throughout its history , many have passed without pain or glory, others have generated controversy and some more have left their mark for their performance in commanding of the "tricolor".

Hernán Darío Gómez

One of them is the paisa Hernán Darío “el Bolillo” Gómez, whose role as technical director of the cafeteros had two periods . In the first (1995 – 1998) he managed to achieve up to 8 victories and reached the classification of the team to the World Cup in France 98, whose early elimination during the group stage led to the end of his position as coach of the tricolor. Later, in 2010, he was called up again to take the reins of the national team, but the defeat against Peru in the 2011 Copa América in Argentina for the quarterfinals ended the era of "Bolillo" in the tricolor with a performance of 47.4% of effectiveness.

Reinaldo Rueda

The 64-year-old from Valle del Cauca, Reinaldo Rueda, current technical director of the coffee team, has a long history in the Colombian national soccer team. His first term began in 2002 and was short, with only 3 games played (1 won, 1 tied, and 1 lost). Rueda was removed from the position and vindicated two years later in his second term as technical director (2004 – 2006), in which he led the team in the 2004 Copa América Peru, where he reached fourth position. He also participated in the entire qualifying process towards the 2006 World Cup in Germany, in which he won 6 games that were not enough to qualify for the national team to the FIFA World Cup. During this last cycle, Rueda had a performance of 52.5% effectiveness.

In his current period as the manager of the National team, Rueda has accumulated 2 victories, 2 draws and 2 defeats.

Eduardo Lara

Another of the best (in terms of performance) in the history of the Colombian team has been Eduardo Lara. The coach took command of the tricolor after the dismissal of Jorge Luis Pinto. Lara achieved up to 6 victories in the qualifying rounds for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which did not reach to qualify for the international competition. After playing several official and friendly matches, the coach obtained a performance of 55.5% effectiveness.

José Nestor Pékerman

The one who made history in his time as technical director of the Colombian team was the Argentine José Néstor Pékerman, who took over the reins of the coffee team in January 2012 after the departure of Leonel Álvarez . "Profesor" Pékerman participated in 2 qualifying rounds towards the world cup, to which he managed to qualify succesfully, and played 2 Copa América. His World Cup debut as head of the national team in the 2014 Brazil Cup was acclaimed and is considered the best participation that the coffee team has had in a world tournament to date . Pékerman left the national team after the defeat against England in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, accumulating a performance of 60.7% effectiveness.

Francisco Maturana

Perhaps the best technical director of the Colombia team has been Francisco “Pacho” Maturana. The "Chocoano" led 2 qualifiers and 4 continental cups. For the World Cup in Italy 90, he classified the national team by repechage and achieved the debut of the Colombian team in a world tournament . His campaign in the 94 World Cup qualifying rounds was impeccable, classifying the team as the undefeated group leader, relegating Argentina to second place, but the story in that World Cup was very different, as the Colombian team did not exceed expectations when it was eliminated in the group stage.

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Maturana's direction during the continental tournaments was outstanding. In Argentina 1987 and Ecuador 1993 he ranked 3rd, while in Brazil 1989 his team was eliminated in the group stage. The most outstanding achievement would come in 2001 by winning the title of the continental tournament in Colombian territory or, the only one in the history of the cafeteros. During his period as a coach, “Pacho” Maturana achieved a 70% effective performance, consolidating himself as the best technical director in the history of the Colombian national team.