Álvaro González Alzate is the most experienced manager that Colombian football has today. He has been described as the strongest power of this sport in the country, although he has never been the visible head of the Colombian Football Federation. Controversial, he speaks little, but when he does he shakes the structures of the entity.
Today, González Alzate is again in controversy after some statements in which he pointed out that Carlos Queiroz, a former coach of the Colombia National Team, had resigned from his position in December 2020, and denied that there was a ‘drawer’ against him.
Queiroz, in a vehement response, told him that he was a liar and accused him of being the person who managed his removal from office.
Who is Gonzalez Alzate?
González Alzate was born in Manizales on September 3, 1944. He initially came to football as a player: despite the fact that he is barely 1.59 meters tall, he played as a central defender in all the teams in the places where he studied: first, at school José María Guingue, and later, at the Technological Institute of Manizales. For two years he lived in Fresno (Tolima), where he studied and played at Colegio San José. And then he was in amateur clubs, like Deportivo Hoyo Frío.
Since then he began to get involved not only on the court, but in the organization, for which he began to make decisions from a very young age: on the court he was already a leader. In Fresno he was already organizing championships. Upon his return to Manizales, he was part of the Manizales soccer committee and later was secretary of the Caldas Soccer League.
Without having been president of that sports entity, González gradually gained a place in the national leadership. As secretary, he attended all the assemblies of Difútbol (the amateur division of Colombian soccer), until the then president of the entity, Saúl Velásquez, suggested that he go live in Bogotá. That’s when he started making a lot of noise.
González knew how to fish in a troubled river to reach the head of Difútbol, in the already distant 1993. Before that, he was executive director of the entity and prosecutor of the Colombian Football Federation, a position from which he carried out an investigation that was the initial quota of the departure of León Londoño Tamayo, who spent more than 30 years in the entity: he began to review the expenses of the World Cup in Italy-90 and found irregularities. Then the supports appeared. Londono resigned in 1992.
In his replacement, they appointed Juan José Bellini, former president of América de Cali. Saúl Velásquez was his opponent and publicly expressed his disapproval of him. Then Difútbol came out to clarify that this statement was in a personal capacity and not of the entity.
A year later, Velásquez resigned and González was appointed to the position. “I am surprised by the attitude of Dr. Velásquez because what was always discussed in the executive committee was related to finding formulas that seek union and work for Colombian soccer in general. I prefer, however, not to go into details about it. My sole and valid intention is to join efforts to move Colombian amateur soccer forward”, he said then.
González began his administration with a great purge. He promoted the creation of the National College of Arbitrators and removed several judges from the panel for irregularities. And then, in 2002, he led the so-called ‘Operation Nasar (no arbitration bribes)’, the product of an investigation against corruption.
In 2006, when the Federation’s statutes were reformed, the presidents of Dimayor and Difútbol had a seat on the executive committee and thus González began to become the power behind the power. He has never assumed the presidency of the entity, but he has always had a lot to do with the decisions of all those who were in charge, such as Óscar Astudillo, Luis Bedoya and now Ramón Jesurún.
He gained so much weight that professional football had to move, and a lot, to counteract his power. While González managed the power of all the leagues, the Dimayor only had the 16 votes of the A teams. Today there are 36, counting the second division.
But he not only put presidents, but also technicians. He was a strong opponent of Luis Augusto García, when he managed the Colombian National Team, between 2000 and 2001. González suggested a new coaching staff to “Chiqui” and he did not accept. They ended up naming Francisco Maturana again.
And in 2003, the return of Hernán Darío Gómez was ready, when Maturana lost against Venezuela in Barranquilla for the tie, despite the fact that ‘Bolillo’ was in Ecuador. The issue was leaked to the press and the appointment was dropped.
false starts
Álvaro González Alzate (left) announces the creation of the Arbitration Commission in 2006. With him, the then president of the FCF, Óscar Astudillo.
González does not usually give many interviews, except for two or three journalist friends. But several times opening his mouth has cost him dearly.
The leader at the time supported Hernán Darío Gómez, who had to resign from the National Team in 2011 after assaulting a woman outside a bar in downtown Bogotá. The problem was the phrase he used: “If Piedad Córdoba were attacked by a man, the whole world would be applauding,” he said.
Arbitration, a subject that he is passionate about, has also brought him problems. “It is said that one of the first requirements to reach the highest levels of Colombian arbitration is to be homosexual, and that seems serious to me,” he said in 2012.
Another scandal was in the case of sexual harassment by the then coach of the U-17 women’s team, Didier Luna, to the physiotherapist of that team, Carolina Rozo. González defended Luna and Sigifredo Alonso, the physical trainer.
“I understand that Messrs. Dídier Luna and Sigifredo Alonso, people directly involved in the alleged events, are preparing criminal complaints for defamation and slander against those responsible for the public communications. That personally seems perfect to me (…) For me, it is just an excessive desire to appear and undeserved protagonism, ”he said then to the newspaper La Patria.
Finally, Luna was sentenced to 28 months in prison for libel by way of fact. The internal investigation of the FCF has made no progress. “They wanted me to deliver the evidence to help Mr. Luna shake off. He said it in an interview they did to him in Acord Colombia: he said that the Federation had always supported him, that his godfather was Álvaro González and that when he overcame his problems, he would return there, “Rozo told EL TIEMPO .
He also appears questioned within the investigation for the resale of the ticket office of the qualifier for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce ratified all the sanctions that it imposed on the Federation and the members of the executive committee when the contract was signed with Ticket Shop, including Gonzalez.
The president of Difútbol denied at the time having any responsibility in the matter. “To date, I am not aware of any legal evidence against Álvaro González Alzate and other colleagues that demonstrates the contrary to this statement. And I have faith that my colleagues from the Executive Committee of the Federation, including that Mr. Jorge Perdomo, did not know either, ”he said.
“I think what was decided is tremendous injustice, and that is why I will go to the last judicial instances that God and the Colombian codes allow me to demonstrate the truth of everything that happened,” he added.
At the time, Perdomo denounced González before the South American Football Confederation for allegedly having received $50,000 for a consultancy contract. The entity responded that there was “no mention or identification of ‘suspicious’ transactions or improper payments.” Finally, a group of clubs met to ask for the head of Perdomo, who left Dimayor’s presidency in June 2018.
JOSE ORLANDO ASCENCIO
Sports Sub-Editor
@josasc
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