Reinaldo Rueda Rivera (born 16 April 1957) is a Colombian football coach. When he was the coach of the Colombia U-20 team, they finished 3rd at the

2003 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. U20 Brazil claimed their fourth title. The 2003 championship was the 14th contested. The tournament was originally planned to be ...

. He also led the Colombia U-17 team to 4th at the

2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, was the tenth edition of FIFA U-17 World Championship. It was held in the cities of Helsinki, Tampere, Lahti and Turku in Finland between 13 and 30 August 2003. Players born after 1 January 1986 could particip ...

. After an unfavorable start to the 2006 World Cup qualification phase (only 1 point after 5 games) the

Colombian Football Federation The Colombian Football Federation (in es, Federación Colombiana de Fútbol) is the governing body of football in Colombia. It was founded in 1924 and has been affiliated to FIFA since 1936. It is a member of CONMEBOL and is in charge of the Col ...

made Rueda the coach of the senior team. Under him, the team improved, coming from near last to finish 6th, though failing to qualify. Then, he moved to Honduras and guided their

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

to a place at the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

Early life

Born in

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the secon ...

, Rueda holds a physical education degree. He completed his master's degree at the Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, where he also gained proficiency in the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

. He is also a university professor and has taught several courses at the Colombian National Coaches School. He has continued his studies in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, attending FIFA and

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...

coaching courses.

Managerial career

Early career

As a footballer, Rueda played for emerging clubs in amateur and college competitions. However, he decided that coaching would be a better way and later became the coach of

Independiente Medellín Deportivo Independiente Medellín, also known as Independiente Medellín or DIM, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at Estadio Atanasio Girard ...

Deportivo Cali Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A. Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful footba ...

, and

Cortuluá Cortuluá, officially named Cortuluá Fútbol Club S. A. and previously known as Corporación Club Deportivo Tuluá, is a Colombian football club from the municipality of Tuluá in the Valle del Cauca. It was founded in 1967 and plays in the Cate ...

Colombia national team

As a coach, Rueda was in charge of the Colombia U-17, U-20, U-21, U-23 and senior teams. Rueda made the final qualifying rounds with the Colombia U-21 in the Toulon Tournament in France in 2000 and 2001. In the first tournament, During Rueda's tenure, Colombia defeated the Republic of Ireland (1–0), Ghana (4–1) and Côte d'Ivoire (3–1). In the final against Portugal on June 3, Colombia won the championship on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * P ...

(3–1). At the 2003 South American U-20 tournament in Uruguay, Reinaldo Rueda assured his team a ticket to the

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when ...

after a 10-year hiatus. His successes made him the coach of the senior side in 2004 for the task to qualify for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

. However, it proved to be a failure and Rueda was sacked after two years in charge.

Honduras national team

Rueda took the helm of the

Honduras national football team The Honduras national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Honduras) represents Honduras in men's international football. The team is governed by the Federación Nacional Autónoma de Fútbol de Honduras (FENAFUTH). They are nickname ...

in January 2007, and led the team to qualification for the

, ending 28 years of qualification failures. However, he came under intense scrutiny following criticism of his tactics as the team exited the World Cup at the first stage. On July 28, 2010, Rueda stepped down as Honduras coach after three years at the helm.

Ecuador national team

In August 2010, Rueda took charge as manager of the Ecuador national team. At the

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...

, the team finished last in a group with

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. On 11 October 2013, Ecuador secured a crucial 1–0 win over direct rivals

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

in the 17th round of the

2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by ...

. Four days later, even with an Ecuador loss to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

and a Uruguay win over

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

in the final round with both teams tying for points and wins, Rueda's side clinched direct qualification with a fourth-place finish due to a better goal difference. At the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, Ecuador exited in the group stage placed third following a 2–1 loss to Switzerland, a 2–1 win over Honduras and a 0–0 draw to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Atlético Nacional

On 6 June 2015, Rueda was appointed at

Atlético Nacional Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional association football, football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the countr ...

. In December, the team won the 2015 Torneo Finalización, Rueda's inaugural title in charge of a senior side. Atlético Nacional started off the 2016 season with a 5–0 aggregate win over

in the Superliga. In the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

, the team had the best campaign in the group stage, with five wins and one draw; in the knockout rounds, they beat

Huracán Huracan (; es, Huracán; myn, Hunraqan, "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating hu ...

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the English ...

and

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, before facing

Independiente del Valle Club de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle, known simply as Independiente del Valle, is a professional football club based in Sangolquí, Ecuador, that currently plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A. Founded in 1958, the club pla ...

in the

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

and winning the title with an aggregate 2–1 win. They additionally reached the

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American fo ...

that year, finishing as runners-up as the club's board decided to concede the title to Chapecoense. In 2017, Atlético faced Chapecoense in the

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana ( pt, CONMEBOL Recopa Sul-Americana), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club football competition organized by CO ...

and won 6–2 aggregate. Rueda left the club in June, after adding another league title to his tally with the 2017 Apertura.

Flamengo

On 14 August 2017, Rueda joined Brazilian club

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

. Under his management, the team reached the finals of the

2017 Copa do Brasil The 2017 Copa do Brasil (officially the Copa Continental Pneus do Brasil 2017 for sponsorship reasons) was the 29th edition of the Copa do Brasil football competition. It was held between February 8 and September 27, 2017. The competition was con ...

and the

2017 Copa Sudamericana The 2017 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 16th edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the ''Copa Sudamericana'', or pt, Copa Sul-Americana), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Argentin ...

, finishing as runners-up in both competitions. He left at the end of the season, after securing qualification for the

2018 Copa Libertadores The 2018 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 59th edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the ''Copa Libertadores''), South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. River Plate defeated Boca Juniors i ...

group stage with a sixth-place finish in the Série A.

Chile national team

On 8 January 2018, Rueda returned to international management and took charge of the

Chile national team Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

. His first match was on 24 March, a 2–1 friendly win over Sweden. At the

2019 Copa América The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June and 7 J ...

, Chile finished second place in Group C behind Uruguay; in the quarter-finals, they knocked Colombia out in the penalty shootouts after a goalless draw in regulation time. The team finished the tournament in fourth place following a 3–0 loss to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

in the semifinals and a 2–1 loss to

in the third place play-off. His stint with Chile ended short when Chile only gained four points after the four first matches in the

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualificationAlso the "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers". was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Parallel tourn ...

Return to the Colombia national team

On 14 January 2021, the

announced Rueda's return to the national team. He made his returning debut in the match against

for the second time in the

, having faced the same opponent in the same qualification as coach of Chile, and made Colombia reach 3rd place in the

2021 Copa América The 2021 Copa América was the 47th edition of the Copa América, the international men's football championship organised by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament took place in Brazil from 13 June to 10 July 2021. The to ...

. Again with the qualifications, Colombia managed to defeat Peru 3-0, tied Argentina and Bolivia with a result of 2-2 and 1-1 respectively, to return to the last same scoreline with

, and a 3-1 win against

. However, after the game with Chile, Rueda's team fell into a goal drought, drawing 0-0 with

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

consecutively, and losing 1-0 again to Brazil. Colombia again drew goalless with Paraguay, and lost the following matches with Peru and

continuing their drought. Colombia finally scored their victories, winning 3-0 against Bolivia and a final victory of 1-0 against

, however, due to previous results, Colombia finished in sixth place, being eliminated from the World Cup. Rueda left the Colombian team shortly after.

Personal life

In 2011, Rueda was naturalized as a Honduran citizen.

Managerial statistics

Honors

;Atlético Nacional *

Categoría Primera A The Categoría Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor (between 2015 and 2019 ''Liga Águila'') due to sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a Colombian professional league for association football clubs. It is th ...

(2): 2015 Finalización, 2017 Apertura *

Superliga Colombiana The Superliga Colombiana (''Colombian Superleague''), officially known as Superliga BetPlay DIMAYOR due to sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is an official competition contested between the winners of the Apertura and Finalización t ...

(1): 2016 *

Copa Colombia The Copa Colombia ( en, Colombia Cup, link=yes); officially known as Copa BetPlay Dimayor is an annual football tournament in Colombia. It is contested by the 36 professional clubs of DIMAYOR and is the nation's domestic cup competition, equi ...

(1) : 2016 *

(1) :

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

References

External links

Reinaldo Rueda
at Goal.com (archived) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rueda, Reinaldo 1956 births Living people 2004 Copa América managers 2010 FIFA World Cup managers 2014 FIFA World Cup managers 2011 Copa América managers 2019 Copa América managers 2021 Copa América managers Colombian football managers Chile national football team managers Colombia national football team managers Ecuador national football team managers Honduras national football team managers Expatriate football managers in Chile Expatriate football managers in Ecuador Expatriate football managers in Honduras University of Valle people People from Cali Deportivo Cali managers Independiente Medellín managers Atlético Nacional managers CR Flamengo managers Categoría Primera A managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Expatriate football managers in Brazil Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Colombia national under-20 football team managers