Francisco Maturana

Player

Born in Quibdó, Chocó, Francisco Maturana moved with his family at an early age to the city of Medellín. Here he played professional football while attending the University of Antioquia, where he later obtained a degree in dentistry. He began his professional career in 1970 at Atlético Nacional, where he became a starting defender until 1980. During his time at Atlético Nacional he won two Colombian League Championships in 1973 and 1976. In 1981, he transferred to Atlético Bucaramanga and also played 6 matches with the Colombia National Team during the qualifying matches for the 1982 World Cup. In 1982, he played his last year with Deportes Tolima until he retired at the end of the season.

Manager

Motivated by Uruguayans Aníbal Ruíz and Luis Cubilla, he started managing the Colombian team Once Caldas in 1986. The following year, the Colombian Football Federation hired him to manage the national team's youth squad and was quickly promoted to manage the Senior Squad to compete in the 1987 Copa América, where they reached third place by beating the host Argentina. During this time, he was also hired to manage his former team, Atlético Nacional. Then, in 1989, he had his most successful year in his career. He led Atlético Nacional, composed of many Colombian legends, to win the Copa Libertadores for the first time for any Colombian club. Using Atlético Nacional players as a base for the National Team, he qualified the team for the 1990 World Cup after 28…

Player

Atlético Nacional

Categoría Primera A (2): 1973, 1976

Manager

Club

Atlético Nacional

Copa Libertadores (1): 1989 América de Cali

Categoría Primera A (1): 1992 Al-Hilal

Saudi Premier League (1): 2001-02

International

Colombia

Copa América (1): 2001