José Letelier Explained

José Letelier
Fullname:José Antonio Letelier Henríquez
Birth Date:1966 5, df=yes
Birth Place:Santiago, Chile
Position:Goalkeeper
Youthyears1:1979–1982
Youthclubs1:Universidad de Chile
Youthyears2:1983–1986
Youthclubs2:Colo-Colo
Years1:1987–1991
Clubs1:Colo-Colo
Years2:1988
Clubs2:Alianza Lima (loan)
Years3:1989
Clubs3:Deportes Valdivia (loan)
Years4:1991–1992
Clubs4:Atlético Morelia
Years5:1993
Clubs5:Huachipato
Years6:1994–1995
Clubs6:Deportes Linares
Years7:1996
Clubs7:Municipal Las Condes
Years8:1997–1999
Clubs8:Deportes Linares
Manageryears1:2010–2015
Managerclubs1:Colo-Colo women
Manageryears2:2015–2023
Managerclubs2:Chile women
Manageryears3:2023–

José Antonio Letelier Henríquez (born 23 May 1966) is a Chilean football coach and former professional goalkeeper. He was the head coach of the Chile women's national football team from 2015 to 2023. He is currently in charge of Peruvian side .

Playing career

Letelier started playing in the youth categories of Universidad de Chile, before switching to rivals Colo-Colo where he was taken on as a professional in 1987.[1] In 1988 Colo-Colo sent Letelier and three other young players – Francisco Huerta,Parcko Quiroz and René Pinto – on loan to Alianza Lima, whose team had perished in the 1987 Alianza Lima plane crash.[2] After a further loan at Deportes Valdivia, he returned to Colo-Colo and understudied Daniel Morón and Marcelo Ramírez in the club's 1991 Copa Libertadores-winning squad.

He was signed by Mexican club Atlético Morelia, where he played in 1991 and 1992, coinciding with his compatriot Juan Gutiérrez.[3] He then completed his career back in Chile, with stints at Huachipato and Deportes Linares.[4]

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Letelier trained as a PE teacher and obtained his coaching licences from the Instituto Nacional del Fútbol (INAF). He began coaching goalkeepers in Colo-Colo's boys' teams, then took charge of the club's women's section in 2010. He won the Chilean women's football championship ten times in succession, the last nine under the Apertura and Clausura format. When Colo-Colo won the 2012 Copa Libertadores Femenina, Letelier became the first individual to be part of winning squads in both the male and female Libertadores tournaments.[5]

In June 2015 he was appointed technical director of the Chile women's national football team, with his first task to prepare an under 20 team for the 2015 South American U-20 Women's Championship.[6] When the senior women's national team played their first fixture in three years in May 2017, they thrashed hapless Peru 12–0.[7] At the 2018 Copa América Femenina, Letelier steered hosts Chile to a runners-up finish, securing qualification to their first ever FIFA Women's World Cup in 2019.[8]

In October 2023, he assumed as the coach of the .[9]

Notes and References

  1. News: Una carrera marcada por el bajo perfil . 19 January 2019 . . 23 April 2018 . Spanish.
  2. News: José Letelier, arquero que defendió a Alianza Lima tras la tragedia del equipo limeño en 1987: “Al principio quise volver de inmediato a Chile, pero al día siguiente se me pasó” . 19 January 2019 . Diario el Día . 1 December 2016 . Spanish . 17 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190417232321/http://www.diarioeldia.cl/deportes/jose-letelier-arquero-que-defendio-alianza-lima-tras-tragedia-equipo-limeno-en-1987 . dead .
  3. Web site: Club Atlético MONARCAS MORELIA . Fútbol en América . 11 December 2022 . es . 2 December 2015.
  4. News: El archivo secreto de José Letelier: el origen noventero del técnico que llevará al Mundial a la Roja Femenina . 19 January 2019 . RedGol.cl . 23 April 2018 . Spanish . 19 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190119174519/https://redgol.cl/2018/4/el-archivo-secreto-de-jose-letelier-el-ori/ . dead .
  5. News: Pizarro . Gonzalo . José Letelier: "This is for all Chileans" . 19 January 2019 . . 26 November 2012 . Spanish.
  6. News: José Letelier es el nuevo entrenador de selección chilena femenina . 19 January 2019 . . 16 June 2016 . Spanish.
  7. News: Conozca a las protagonistas que brillaron en la histórica goleada de 12-0 de la "Roja" femenina de fútbol . 19 January 2019 . . 29 May 2017 . Spanish.
  8. News: José Letelier valora los duelos de La Roja femenina ante Italia y Cataluña: "Son potencias a nivel mundial" . 19 January 2019 . RedGol.cl . 17 January 2019 . Spanish.
  9. Web site: Solís Ruiz . Miguel . José Letelier vuelve a Matute: llegó como arquero tras accidente del Fokker y ahora dirigirá a Alianza Lima Femenino . . 23 October 2023 . es . 19 October 2023.