Francisco Maturana

Francisco Maturana, 2017

Francisco Maturana (born February 15, 1949 in Quibdó , Chocó ) is a former Colombian football player and current coach .

Maturana is a trained dentist . From 1970 to 1982 he worked in various Colombian football clubs and in the Colombian national team as a defender and was twice national champion with his club Atlético Nacional from his hometown of Medellín (1973 and 1976).

Maturana has been a trainer since 1983 and a professional trainer since 1986. Between 1987 and 1995 Maturana was national coach in his home country and also remained a club coach.

In 1989 Maturana won the Copa Libertadores with Atlético Nacional . In the subsequent World Cup final, his team lost to AC Milan under Arrigo Sacchi only in extra time.

With the national team he reached the finals of the World Cup for the first time in 28 years in 1990 . At this World Cup, the team made it to the second round for the first time (see Soccer World Cup 1990 / Colombia ).

In 1992 Maturana moved to América de Cali . With América de Cali, Maturana became national champion in 1992. He then worked briefly for Atlético Madrid in 1994 . In 1995 he took over the Ecuadorian national soccer team , with which he competed in the 1995 Copa America and qualifying for the 1998 World Cup. The latter was ultimately unsuccessful, but Ecuador was able to defeat Argentina for the first time in a qualifying game. Then his contract ended and he moved to the Colombian club team Millonarios , which he only briefly trained because unsuccessfully. In 1999 he became the national coach of Costa Rica, but soon moved to the Peruvian national team , with which he did not qualify for the 2000 World Cup. In 2001 he was again the national coach of Colombia and coached his team at the 2001 Copa America in his own country. Colombia won the South American Championship for the first time.

He then trained Al-Hilal . In 2003 he was again the national coach of his home country and contested with this the Confederations Cup 2003 (4th place), the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2003 (quarter-final defeat against Brazil) and the beginning of the qualification for the 2006 World Cup. After defeats against Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela was terminated his contract prematurely. In 2004 he was the coach of CA Colón in Argentina, in 2007 he coached Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata there . In 2008 he became the coach of the Trinidad and Tobago national team , but was fired in April 2009.

Most recently, Maturana received the offer to train Independiente Medellín . He declined, however, as he is currently a member of the FIFA Technology and Development Committee.

In June 2017 Maturana signed a contract as the new coach at Once Caldas .