Rafael Édgar Dudamel Ochoa (born January 7, 1973), is a Venezuelan football manager and former player, currently in charge of Colombian club Deportivo Cali.
A goalkeeper, Dudamel made 56 appearances for the Venezuela national team.
Club career During his career, Dudamel played for several Venezuelan and Colombian football clubs. Among the Venezuelan clubs are Universidad de Los Andes, El Vigía, Atlético Zulia, UA Maracaibo and Deportivo Táchira. Atlético Huila, Independiente Santa Fe, Deportivo Cali, Millonarios and Cortulua are the Colombian clubs where he played. He has also played for Quilmes, of Argentina. He was transferred to Mamelodi Sundowns, of South Africa in 2005. In 2007 after the Copa America, he transferred to América de Cali, a top Colombian club, alongside Venezuelan international Jorge Rojas. He left América and returned to Estudiantes de Mérida on August 29, 2008.
International career As of November 2007, Dudamel has 56 caps and one goal for the Venezuela national football team. He was capped for the first time in 1993. He scored a direct free kick in the World Cup 1998 qualifier against Argentina.
Managerial career On 18 October 2017 Dudamel is appointed manager of Venezuela's national football team.
On 5 June 2016 Dudamel gets his first win in an official tournament as national coach with a 1–0 victory over Jamaica in the 2016 Copa America. In his next match at the tournament, he upsets Uruguay 1–0. The winner was scored by Salomon Rondón, who tapped in after a long range attempt by Alejandro Guerra was saved. In the final group match, he drew against Mexico 1-1. In the knockout stages, Venezuela lost immediately, 4–1 to Argentina.
At the 2017 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, Dudamel led the U20s to the final, where they lost to England 1–0 in the final. It was the nation's best ever performance at U20 competition.
On 2 January 2020, he resigned from the Venezuela national team, and four days later signed a two-year contract with Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro. On 27 February 2020, he was sacked by Atlético, following eliminations from the Copa Sudamericana and the Copa do Brasil.
He spent time at Universidad de Chile between 2020 and 2021, and in September 2021 he was appointed as manager of Deportivo Cali, becoming Colombian champion at the end of the season.
Career statistics
| 1. || October 9, 1996 || Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal, Venezuela || || 2–4 || 2–5 || 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification ||
Managerial statistics
TeamNatFromToRecordGWDLWin %Estudiantes de Mérida17 May 201017 March 2011Venezuela U1712 May 20128 November 2013Deportivo Lara18 December 201325 November 2015Venezuela U2017 August 201515 August 2019Venezuela1 April 20164 January 2020Atlético Mineiro4 January 202026 February 2020Universidad de Chile5 November 20205 June 2021Deportivo Cali7 September 20211 July 2022Necaxa16 May 202327 August 2023Atlético Bucaramanga1 December 202327 November 2024Deportivo Pereira9 April 202529 October 2025Deportivo Cali9 March 2026presentTotal
Official FIFA matches only.
Honors Player Universidad de Los Andes Primera División Venezolana: 1990–91
Santa Fe Copa Conmebol runner-up: 1996
Atlético Zulia Primera División Venezolana: 1997–98
Deportivo Cali Categoría Primera A: 1998 Copa Merconorte runner-up: 1998 Copa Libertadores runner-up: 1999
Millonarios Copa Merconorte: 2001
Mamelodi Sundowns Premier Soccer League: 2005–06
Coach Venezuela Kirin Cup: 2019
Venezuela U-20 FIFA U-20 World Cup runner-up: 2017 South American Youth Football Championship third place: 2017
Venezuela U-17 South American Under-17 Football Championship runner-up: 2013
Deportivo Cali Categoría Primera A: 2021–II
Atlético Bucaramanga Categoría Primera A: 2024–I
References
External links
International statistics at rsssf
Colombia.com