Néstor Lorenzo

Néstor Lorenzo

Lorenzo at the 2018 FIFA World Cup as Colombia's assistant manager
Personal information
Full name	Néstor Gabriel Lorenzo
Date of birth	(1966-02-26) 26 February 1966
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Colombia (head coach)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1985–1989	Argentinos Juniors	68	(1)
1989–1990	Bari	23	(1)
1990–1992	Swindon Town	24	(2)
1992–1994	San Lorenzo	63	(3)
1994–1995	Banfield	25	(1)
1995–1996	Ferro Carril Oeste	29	(4)
1996–1997	Boca Juniors	14	(0)
Total		246	(12)
International career
1988–1990	Argentina	13	(1)
Managerial career
2000–2001	Argentina U20 (assistant)
2003–2004	Leganés (assistant)
2004–2006	Argentina (assistant)
2007–2008	Toluca (assistant)
2009	Tigres UANL (assistant)
2012–2019	Colombia (assistant)
2021–2022	Melgar
2022–	Colombia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Néstor Gabriel Lorenzo (born 26 February 1966) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is the current head coach of the Colombia national team.

Lorenzo played for Argentinos Juniors, A.S. Bari, Swindon Town, Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, Ferrocarril Oeste and Boca Juniors. Lorenzo also represented Argentina in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, including the final which the Argentines lost to Germany.

Playing career

After Italia '90 and after an attempt by Brian Clough to sign Lorenzo for Nottingham Forest fell through, Argentine legend Ossie Ardiles signed the defender for Swindon Town on loan and eventually the deal became a permanent switch.

Lorenzo played 27 times for Swindon, scoring two goals: one in his debut at the County Ground against Portsmouth in a 3–0 win, and one away at Watford in a 2–2 draw.

After seeing out his contract, Lorenzo returned to Argentina. He later turned his hand to coaching, and was part of José Pekerman's staff for the Argentina national team.

Managerial career

Colombia's football federation announced on June 2, 2022, it had picked Nestor Lorenzo to coach its men's national team for the next four years. The 56-year-old Argentinian replaced Reinaldo Rueda, who was fired from the job in April of the same year after Colombia failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.

As of June 2023, Lorenzo has led the national team to an undefeated record of 6 wins and 2 draws. On June 20, 2023, Colombia beat the Germany national team for the first time in its history in a dominant 2–0 victory under Lorenzo.

As of July 2024, Colombia has gone 28 games undefeated under Lorenzo and has had significant victories over the national teams of Germany, Brazil, Uruguay and Spain. Another major achievement of Lorenzo's was leading the Colombia national team to its first Copa America final in 23 years (since 2001) and managing Colombia to score 12 goals in the 2024 Copa America tournament, their highest record in the competition.

Career statistics

England

Season	Team	League Apps	League Goals	F.A. Cup Apps	F.A. Cup Goals
1991–92	Swindon Town	2 (+2)	0	0	0
1990–91	Swindon Town	18 (+2)	2	3	0

Managerial statistics

As of match played 10 July 2024

Team	From	To	Record
			P	W	D	L	Win %
Melgar	1 January 2021	8 July 2022	63	35	12	16	055.56
Colombia	9 July 2022	Present	25	19	6	0	076.00
Total			88	54	18	16	061.36

Honours

Player

Argentinos Juniors

• Copa Interamericana: 1985

AS Bari

• Mitropa Cup: 1990

Manager

FBC Melgar

• Torneo Apertura: 2022

External links

• (in Spanish) Argentine Primera statistics
• Clarin.com