Juan Carlos León

Juan Carlos León Zambrano (born 24 January 1975) is an Ecuadorian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the current manager of Libertad FC.

Career
Born in Esmeraldas, León represented Barcelona SC, Calvi as a youth. After making his senior debut with Audaz Octubrino in 1999, he went on to play for Panamá, Santos Ecuador, Valle del Chota, Paladín "S", 9 de Octubre and Liceo Cristiano.

After retiring, León worked for Barcelona and Norte América's youth categories before joining Independiente del Valle in the middle of 2009. After winning several titles with the under-16s and under-18s, he led the under-20s to the 2018 U-20 Copa Libertadores final, and was later named in charge of reserve team Alianza Cotopaxi for the 2018 Segunda Categoría.

After winning the Segunda Categoría and promoting Alianza (later named Independiente Juniors) to the Serie B, León renewed his contract with the club. On 2 January 2020, he was appointed manager of former team 9 de Octubre in the second division, and led the side back to the Serie A after a 25-year absence, also winning the title for the first time.

On 2 August 2022, León was sacked by 9 de Octubre, and took over fellow top tier side Orense eleven days later. He left the latter on 3 December, after narrowly missing out a continental spot.

León returned to 9 de Octubre for the 2024 season, but was appointed at the helm of Libertad FC on 19 April of that year.

Honours
Independiente Juniors
 * Segunda Categoría: 2018

9 de Octubre
 * Ecuadorian Serie B: 2020