Sebastián Botero

Juan Sebastián Botero (born July 4, 1986, in Ames, Iowa), is an American-born Colombian soccer manager and former midfielder.^[2] His parents moved from Colombia to the United States before he was born.^[1] He is the current coach of the youth squads of Colombian club Independiente Medellín.

Sebastián Botero

Personal information
Full name	Juan Sebastián Botero
Date of birth	(1986-07-04) July 4, 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Ames, Iowa, United States[1]
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder[1]
Youth career
1999–2003	Independiente Medellín
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2007	Independiente Medellín	46	(?)
2007	FC Dallas	0	(0)
2008–2009	Atlético Huila
2009	Once Caldas
2009	Independiente Medellín
2012	Cúcuta Deportivo
2013	Deportivo Rionegro
2013	Atlético Huila	8	(0)
International career‡
2003	Colombia U-17
Managerial career
2014–2020	Independiente Medellín (youth)
2020–2022	Fortaleza C.E.I.F. (youth)
2022–	Independiente Medellín (youth)
2023	Independiente Medellín (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of August 23, 2007 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of August 23, 2007

Football career

Then, Botero and his family moved back to Colombia when he was one year old, and he joined the Independiente Medellín youth system at age 13. He made his professional first team debut for Medellín at age 17, on August 3, 2003, versus Atlético Huila. In his four years with the club, he went on to make 46 first team appearances, playing his final game in June 2007 against Cúcuta Deportivo.^[3][4]

In 2003, Botero played for the Colombia national under-17 football team in the South American U-17 Championship held in Bolivia, scoring a goal against Paraguay while also playing against Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, and Uruguay. This Colombian team was managed by coach Eduardo Lara.^[5]

Botero was on the development roster with FC Dallas during 2007,^[2] but was waived at the end of the year. He was later picked up to play for Atlético Huila to perform in the Copa Mustang in Colombia, and played for Once Caldas during the second half of 2009. Then, in 2012 he was hired by Cúcuta Deportivo.^[6]

Retirement and managerial career

In 2013 and after playing for Deportivo Rionegro and Atlético Huila again, Botero decided to retire from his activity as a professional soccer player in Colombia. From that moment on, he dedicated himself to coaching minor soccer divisions in the South American country, including the youth teams of Independiente Medellín and Fortaleza C.E.I.F.^[7] Likewise, in later years, he began to give sports conferences, narrating and teaching about the soccer sports career, starting in minor divisions, until reaching the professional soccer environment.^[3]

On May 9, 2023, he was appointed as the caretaker coach of Independiente Medellín.^[8]

Clubs

Most of his sports career was developed in Colombia, a country where he continued to live after retiring as a professional player.

Club	Country	Year
Independiente Medellín	Colombia	2004–2007
FC Dallas	United States	2007
Atlético Huila	Colombia	2008–2009
Once Caldas	Colombia	2009
Cúcuta Deportivo	Colombia	2012
Deportivo Rionegro	Colombia	2013
Atlético Huila	Colombia	2013