Rafael Dudamel

Rafael Édgar Dudamel Ochoa (born January 7, 1973 ), is a Venezuelan football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He is the current manager of Colombian club Atlético Bucaramanga.

As a player, Dudamel made 56 appearances for the Venezuela national team.

Club
During his career, Dudamel played for several Venezuelan and Colombian football clubs. Among the Venezuelan clubs are Universidad de Los Andes, El Vigía, Atlético Zulia, UA Maracaibo and Deportivo Táchira. Atlético Huila, Independiente Santa Fe, Deportivo Cali, Millonarios and Cortulua are the Colombian clubs where he played. He has also played for Quilmes, of Argentina. He was transferred to Mamelodi Sundowns, of South Africa in 2005. In 2007 after the Copa America, he transferred to América de Cali, a top Colombian club, alongside Venezuelan international Jorge Rojas. He left América and returned to Estudiantes de Mérida on August 29, 2008.

International
As of November 2007, Dudamel has 56 caps and one goal for the Venezuela national football team. He was capped for the first time in 1993. He scored a direct free kick in the World Cup 1998 qualifier against Argentina.

International goal

 * 1. || October 9, 1996 || Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal, Venezuela || 🇦🇷 argentina || 2–4 || 2–5 || 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification ||
 * }
 * }

Managerial career
On 18 October 2017 Dudamel is appointed manager of Venezuela's national football team.

On 5 June 2016 Dudamel gets his first win in an official tournament as national coach with a 1–0 victory over Jamaica in the 2016 Copa America. In his next match at the tournament, he upsets Uruguay 1–0. The winner was scored by Salomon Rondón, who tapped in after a long range attempt by Alejandro Guerra was saved. In the final group match, he drew against Mexico 1-1. In the knockout stages, Venezuela lost immediately, 4–1 to Argentina.

At the 2017 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, Dudamel led the U20s to the final, where they lost to England 1–0 in the final. It was the nation's best ever performance at U20 competition.

On 2 January 2020, he resigned from the Venezuela national team, and four days later signed a two-year contract with Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro. On 27 February 2020, he was sacked by Atlético, following eliminations from the Copa Sudamericana and the Copa do Brasil.

He spent time at Universidad de Chile between 2020 and 2021, and in September 2021 he was appointed as manager of Deportivo Cali, becoming Colombian champion at the end of the season.

Managerial Statistics

 * Official FIFA matches only.

Club

 * Universidad de Los Andes
 * Primera División Venezolana 1990–91


 * Santa Fe
 * Copa Conmebol: Runners Up 1995


 * Atlético Zulia'''
 * Primera División Venezolana: 1997–98


 * Deportivo Cali
 * Copa Mustang: 1998
 * Copa Merconorte: Runners Up 1998
 * Copa Libertadores: Runners Up 1999


 * Millonarios
 * Copa Merconorte: 2001


 * Mamelodi Sundowns
 * Premier Soccer League 2005–06

International

 * Venezuela
 * Kirin Cup: 2019


 * Venezuela U-20
 * FIFA U-20 World Cup: Runner-up 2017
 * South American Youth Football Championship: Third Place 2017


 * Venezuela U-17
 * South American Under-17 Football Championship: Runner-Up 2013

Club

 * Deportivo Cali
 * Categoría Primera A: 2021–II


 * Atlético Bucaramanga
 * Categoría Primera A: 2024–I