Leonel Álvarez

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Personal information
Leonel Álvarez
Full name	Leonel de Jesús Álvarez
Date of birth	July 30, 1965 (age 41)
Place of birth	Remedios, Colombia
Playing position	defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	retired
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1983 1996 1997 1998-1999 1999-2001	Independiente Medellín América de Cali Atlético Nacional Real Valladolid Deportes Quindio Dallas Burn Veracruz Dallas Burn New England Revolution	22 (3) 48 (0) 58 (2)
National team
1985-1995	Colombia	101
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Leonel de Jesús Álvarez (born July 30, 1965 in Remedios, Colombia) is a Colombian football defensive midfielder, one of the best in the country's history.

Álvarez began his career with Independiente Medellín in 1983. He has also played for Veracruz (Mexico), América de Cali, Atlético Nacional, Real Valladolid (Spain), and Deportes Quindio. He won the Colombian championship with América de Cali in 1992.

Álvarez signed with Major League Soccer before the league's inaugural 1996 season, and was allocated to the Dallas Burn. In his first year with the team, Álvarez was clearly one of the league's best players, as he scored three goals and five assists for the team from a defensive midfield position, and was named to the MLS Best XI. Unfortunately for the Burn, Álvarez moved to Mexico for the 1997 season, where he played for Veracruz. He did not return until 1998, when he quickly recovered his starting position; Álvarez would be an extremely important player in the Burn's central midfield for the next two years, but near the end of 1999, was traded to the New England Revolution for Ariel Graziani. Álvarez would play for the Revolution through 2001, always an important starter, before the team decided not to renew his contract for the 2002 season.

Álvarez appeared in a total of 101 games for the Colombia, making his debut February 14, 1985 against Poland. He appeared for Colombia in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, playing in a total of seven games. Additionally, he played in Copa Américas for his native country in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1995.

On the pitch, Leonel is known for his intense physical defense which made him very popular among the Colombian fans. Álvarez has maintained a low profile since retiring, but has been back in the limelight in appearances in Colombian reality shows such as "La Isla de los Famosos."

[edit] Quotes

"Listo papito, si es ya es ya" (OK darling, if it's now it's now)

Also as an important achievement, Leonel scored the winning penalty in the '89 Copa Libertadores wonderful run by Atletico Nacional (Colombia) vs. Olimpia(Paraguay)

[edit] See also

Famous Colombians

	Colombia squad - 1990 FIFA World Cup
1 Higuita \| 2 Escobar \| 3 Gildardo Gómez \| 4 Herrera \| 5 Villa \| 6 Pérez \| 7 Estrada \| 8 Gabriel Gómez \| 9 Guerrero \| 10 Valderrama \| 11 Redín \| 12 Niño \| 13 Hoyos \| 14 Álvarez \| 15 Perea \| 16 Iguarán \| 17 Cassiani \| 18 Cabrera \| 19 Rincón \| 20 Fajardo \| 21 Mendoza \| 22 Hernández \| Coach: Maturana

	Colombia squad - 1994 FIFA World Cup
1 Córdoba \| 2 Escobar \| 3 Mendoza \| 4 Herrera \| 5 Gaviria \| 6 Gómez \| 7 de Ávila \| 8 Lozano \| 9 Valenciano \| 10 Valderrama \| 11 Valencia \| 12 Mondragón \| 13 Ortiz \| 14 Álvarez \| 15 Perea \| 16 Aristizábal \| 17 Serna \| 18 Cortés \| 19 Rincón \| 20 Pérez \| 21 Asprilla \| 22 Pazo \| Coach: Maturana