Rafael Dudamel

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Dudamel and the second or maternal family name is Ochoa.

Rafael Édgar Dudamel Ochoa (born January 7, 1973^[2]), is a Venezuelan football manager and former player who is the manager of Colombian club Deportivo Pereira.

Rafael Dudamel

Dudamel in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Rafael Édgar Dudamel Ochoa
Date of birth	(1973-01-07) January 7, 1973 (age 52)
Place of birth	San Felipe, Yaracuy, Venezuela
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Deportivo Pereira (manager)
Youth career
1989–1993	Universidad Los Andes
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–1994	Universidad Los Andes
1994	Atlético Huila
1994	El Vigía
1995–1997	Santa Fe	88	(3)
1997–1998	Atlético Zulia	18	(1)
1998	Quilmes	17	(1)
1998–2001	Deportivo Cali	142	(11)
2001–2002	Millonarios	20	(0)
2002–2004	UA Maracaibo	35	(2)
2004	Cortuluá	17	(0)
2005	Deportivo Táchira	14	(0)
2005–2006	Mamelodi Sundowns	7	(0)
2007	Estudiantes de Mérida	20	(3)
2007–2008	América de Cali	11	(0)
2008–2009	Estudiantes de Mérida	15	(0)
2009–2010	Real Esppor		(0)
Total		404	(21)
International career
1993–2010	Venezuela	57	(1)
Managerial career
2010–2011	Estudiantes de Mérida
2012–2013	Venezuela U17
2014–2015	Deportivo Lara
2015–2019	Venezuela U20
2016–2020	Venezuela
2020	Atlético Mineiro
2020–2021	Universidad de Chile
2021–2022	Deportivo Cali
2023	Necaxa
2024	Atlético Bucaramanga
2025–	Deportivo Pereira
Medal record Men's football Representing  Venezuela (as manager) FIFA U-20 World Cup Runner-up 2017
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

A goalkeeper, Dudamel made 56 appearances for the Venezuela national team.^[3]

Club career

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.^[4] Atlético Huila, Independiente Santa Fe, Deportivo Cali, Millonarios and Cortulua are the Colombian clubs where he played.^[5] He has also played for Quilmes, of Argentina.^{[citation needed]} He was transferred to Mamelodi Sundowns, of South Africa in 2005.^[6] In 2007 after the Copa America, he transferred to América de Cali, a top Colombian club, alongside Venezuelan international Jorge Rojas.^[7] He left América and returned to Estudiantes de Mérida on August 29, 2008.^[8]

International career

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.^[9]

Managerial career

On 18 October 2017 Dudamel is appointed manager of Venezuela's national football team. ^[10]

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.^[11] 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.^[12] In the final group match, he drew against Mexico 1-1.^[13] In the knockout stages, Venezuela lost immediately, 4–1 to Argentina.^[14]

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.^[15]

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.^[16] On 27 February 2020, he was sacked by Atlético, following eliminations from the Copa Sudamericana and the Copa do Brasil.^[17]

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.

Career statistics

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1.	October 9, 1996	Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal, Venezuela	Argentina	2–4	2–5	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification	[18]

Managerial statistics

As of Match played 25 July 2025

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Estudiantes de Mérida		17 May 2010	17 March 2011	26	6	6	14	023.08
Venezuela U17		12 May 2012	8 November 2013	13	3	5	5	023.08
Deportivo Lara		18 December 2013	25 November 2015	90	35	33	22	038.89
Venezuela U20		17 August 2015	15 August 2019	40	18	9	13	045.00
Venezuela		1 April 2016	4 January 2020	35	9	15	11	025.71
Atlético Mineiro		4 January 2020	26 February 2020	10	4	3	3	040.00
Universidad de Chile		5 November 2020	5 June 2021	26	8	12	6	030.77
Deportivo Cali		7 September 2021	1 July 2022	55	18	19	18	032.73
Necaxa		16 May 2023	27 August 2023	8	0	2	6	000.00
Atlético Bucaramanga		1 December 2023	27 November 2024	58	28	17	13	048.28
Deportivo Pereira		9 April 2025	present	16	8	5	3	050.00
Total				376	137	126	113	036.44

• Official FIFA matches only.

Honors

Player

Universidad de Los Andes

• Primera División Venezolana: 1990–91

Santa Fe

• Copa Conmebol runner-up: 1996

Atlético Zulia

• Primera División Venezolana: 1997–98

Deportivo Cali

• Categoría Primera A: 1998
• Copa Merconorte runner-up: 1998
• Copa Libertadores runner-up: 1999

Millonarios

• Copa Merconorte: 2001

Mamelodi Sundowns

• Premier Soccer League: 2005–06

Coach

Venezuela

• Kirin Cup: 2019^[19][20]

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

Deportivo Cali

• Categoría Primera A: 2021–II

Atlético Bucaramanga

• Categoría Primera A: 2024–I