Koldo Álvarez

Jesús Luis "Koldo" Álvarez de Eulate Güergue (born 4 September 1970) is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper, currently manager of the Andorra national team.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Álvarez de Eulate and the second or maternal family name is Güergue.
Koldo Álvarez
Koldo managing Andorra in 2016
Personal information
Full name Jesús Luis Álvarez de Eulate Güergue
Date of birth (1970-09-04) 4 September 1970
Place of birth Vitoria, Spain
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Andorra (coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1989 Aurrerá
1989–1993 Atlético Madrid B 52 (0)
1990 → Toledo (loan) 15 (0)
1991 Atlético Madrid 0 (0)
1993–1994 Salamanca 0 (0)
1994–2006 FC Andorra
2006–2007 Balaguer
2007–2009 FC Andorra 10 (0)
International career
1998–2009 Andorra 78 (0)
Managerial career
2010– Andorra
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Basque Country, Spain, Álvarez spent his entire career in the country.[1] He signed in the 1990 summer transfer window with Atlético Madrid from local CD Aurrerá de Vitoria, but struggled to appear even for the reserves. Due to injury to starter Abel Resino, he was on the bench for the first team in the final of the 1990–91 Copa del Rey, against RCD Mallorca.[2]

Álvarez resumed his career in the lower leagues, being second or third choice. In 1994, he joined FC Andorra who competed in the Spanish football league system, going on to remain 14 of the following 15 seasons with the club and retiring aged 39.[3] After being naturalised, he began representing the Andorra national team, making his debut on 3 June 1998 in a 3–0 friendly loss to Brazil.[4]

On 10 June 2009, Álvarez played his last international, a 6–0 defeat against England for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers; arguably one of the best players in the match, he received a standing ovation from the opposing fans for his efforts, after he was substituted in injury time.[5] Previously, in November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as Andorra's Golden Player by the Andorran Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.[6][7]

Coaching career

Álvarez was appointed as the Andorra national team's manager on 2 February 2010, replacing David Rodrigo.[8] His first win (on his 49th game in charge) came seven years and 20 days later, 2–0 over fellow minnows San Marino in a friendly.[9][10]

On 25 March 2017, nearly 12 years after the last point won in official matches, Álvarez led the side to a 0–0 draw with Faroe Islands for the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.[11] On 9 June, for the same competition, a 1–0 win against Hungary in Andorra la Vella was achieved, the first competitive one since October 2004.[12][13]

Personal life

Álvarez's son, Iker, is also a footballer and a goalkeeper. He was coached by his father in the national team setup.[14]

Career statistics

International
Andorra[15]
YearAppsGoals
199880
199980
200080
200130
200260
200370
200470
200580
200650
200790
200850
200940
Total780

Managerial statistics
As of match played 15 October 2023[16][17]
Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Andorra January 2010 Present 112 10 17 85 008.93

Honours

Atlético Madrid

References
  1. Aroca, Jon (15 October 2022). "Lecciones de un alavés en el Principado" [Lessons from an Álava man at the Principality]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  2. Carbajosa, Carlos E. (30 June 1991). "El Mallorca, finalista elemplar" [Mallorca, the perfect finalists]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  3. Plaza, Daniel (16 November 2020). "Los 'otros' españoles internacionales de la UEFA Nations League" [The 'other' Spanish internationals of the UEFA Nations League] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  4. Mamrud, Roberto. "Jesús Luis Alvarez de Eulate "Koldo" – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  5. Griffiths, Frank (10 June 2009). "Andorra loses 6–0 to England but prevents ridicule". USA Today. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  6. "Golden Players take centre stage". UEFA. 29 November 2003. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  7. Garin, Erik; Silva, Rui. "Jubilee Awards". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  8. "Koldo, nou seleccionador de futbol" [Koldo, new national team manager]. Diari d'Andorra (in Catalan). 2 February 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  9. Pérez, Gorka (22 February 2017). "Andorra derrota a San Marino y consigue su primera victoria en 13 años" [Andorra defeat San Marino and get their first win in 13 years]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  10. Kitson, Jack (23 February 2017). "Koldo Alvarez wins first Andorra match at 49th attempt". The Sack Race. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  11. "Y 58 partidos después, Andorra no perdió" [And 58 matches later, Andorra did not lose]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 25 March 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  12. "Andorra players shed tears of joy after first competitive win since 2004". ESPN FC. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  13. "Andorra stun Hungary to end 66-match winless run despite completing just 44 passes". The Daily Telegraph. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  14. López-Egea, Miquel (3 April 2019). ""L'objectiu és ser porter del Villarreal i acabar jugant a la Primera Divisió"" ["The goal is to be Villarreal's goalkeeper and end up playing in the First Division"]. El Periòdic d'Andorra (in Catalan). Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  15. "Koldo". European Football. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  16. "Koldo". Worldfootball. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  17. Koldo Álvarez coach profile at Soccerway
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