Rafael Puente Jr.

Rafael Puente del Río or Rafael Puente Jr. (born 31 January 1979) is a Mexican former actor, professional footballer, and manager.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Puente and the second or maternal family name is Del Río.
Rafael Puente Jr.
Personal information
Full name Rafael Puente del Río
Date of birth (1979-01-31) 31 January 1979
Place of birth Mexico City, Mexico
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003 Atlante 1 (0)
2004 Necaxa 0 (0)
Managerial career
2016–2018 BUAP
2018–2019 Querétaro
2020 Atlas
2021–2022 Juárez (Assistant)
2023 UNAM
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Born to soccer columnist and former Mexico national team goalkeeper Rafael Puente, Puente Jr. began playing football as a striker with Mexican Primera División side Atlante F.C., making his professional debut in 2003. He transferred to Club Necaxa in 2004.

Then on May 22, 2006, he debuted as an actor in telenovelas in Codigo Postal as Hector Garza. He is now a sports commentator.[2]

He was appointed the chief operating officer for Guadalajara in May 2014.[3] He was let go in October 2014 by newly appointed chairman Néstor de la Torre.[4]

After being fired from Guadalajara, Puente Jr. joined his father as an analyst and commentator for ESPN Deportes in the United States and also for ESPN Mexico.[5] At ESPN, Puente Jr. covered the 2015 Copa América in Chile, the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final in Milan, the 2016 UEFA Euro, and also appeared on the networks show like Fútbol Picante, Los Capitanes, ESPN Radio Fórmula and ESPN Fútbol Center.[5]

Although he had limited experience as a professional footballer, Puente became a football manager, drawing on his experiences playing for Enrique Meza, Miguel Herrera and José Guadalupe Cruz.[6] On October 5, 2016, Puente Jr. was announced as the new manager for Ascenso MX club Lobos BUAP.[7]

On May 20, 2017, Rafael Puente Jr. successfully managed Lobos BUAP into Liga MX promotion for the 2017–18 season. He signed a new one-year contract with Lobos in June 2017.[8] On 2 April 2018, Puente Jr. was sacked after earning nine points in 13 games of the Clausura 2018 season.[9]

On January 30, 2020, Puente Jr. was appointed by Atlas.[10] On August 10, 2020, Puente was sacked from Atlas after winning only one match of nine.[11]

Honours

Manager

Lobos BUAP

References
  1. "Rafael Puente del Río Statistics - Goals, Passes and Shots on Tribuna.com". Tribuna.com. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  2. Méndez R., Juan Pablo (19 May 2012). "Detalles de la fastuosa boda de Rafael Puente Jr" (in Spanish). Tvnotas.com.mx.
  3. González, Raymundo (6 May 2014). "El Rebaño confirmó a Rafa Puente del Río como Director Operativo" (in Spanish). Medio Tiempo.
  4. "Vergara acepta errores, pero dice estar contento por los cambios" (in Spanish). espndeportes.com. 8 October 2014.
  5. "ESPN refuerza su equipo de talentos - ESPN MediaZone Latin America North".
  6. "Rafa Puente, un híbrido en la estrategia" [Rafa Puente, a hybrid in strategy] (in Spanish). Esto. 5 July 2017.
  7. "Rafa Puente Jr. Nuevo técnico de Lobos BUAP". 5 October 2016.
  8. "Rafa Puente Jr no se va, firma un año más con Lobos BUAP" [Rafa Puente Jr does not leave, signs for one more year with Lobos BUAP] (in Spanish). Diario Cambio. 8 June 2017.
  9. "Rafael Puente fue cesado de Lobos BUAP" [Rafael Puente was sacked from Lobos BUAP] (in Spanish). 2 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  10. "Bienvenido, Rafael Puente". Atlas F.C. (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  11. "Comunicado: Rafael Puente del Río deja de ser DT de Atlas FC". Atlas FC (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 August 2020.
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