The story and facets behind Juan Carlos Osorio

In red, the most important; in blue, everything else. Two pens and a notebook on the edge of the lawn. Crouching down, he writes everything down and hands tickets to the players in the middle of the game. The scene has been repeated for almost 20 years as a coach, and many more in the football world, and now it will be part of the routine of the club’s games. Athletico. The current ball in Furacão goes by the name of Juan Carlos Osorio. It will be in the hands – and in the notes – of the 62-year-old Colombian that the club deposits the chips in the year of its centenary.

During training, he usually keeps pens of different colors, one in each sock, for possible guidance. Everything is recorded in his faithful notebook, the famous “libretta“, down to the smallest details. He learned the practice from his father as a child. He has written so much that a book was even published, “O Caderno de Osorio, my management model”, released in 2015.

“Red is not what is wrong, it is the most important. And in blue I write the rest. I didn’t create anything, my father taught me, from a very young age. You have to write. A small pencil is better than a memory big”, he explained in an interview with Spectacular sport.

Osorio was in Egyptian football and returns to Brazil after nine years. Former player, he was a physical trainer and assistant before becoming a coach, he worked at Englandwas successful in U.S and was an assistant in Manchester City for five years. Nicknamed “Lorde” in Colombia for his education, he is obsessed with work. With a studious profile, he is the type who hones his opponents down to the smallest detail and is passionate about tactics. Detail-oriented and perfectionist, he likes to work integrating basic and professional work. At the São Paulofor example, worked with 14 players revealed at the base in a period of four months.

The many facets of Juan Carlos Osorio

Juan Carlos Osorio Arbeláez was born in Santa Rosa de Cabal, in the department of Risaralda, Colombia, but spent his entire childhood in the municipality of Anserma. He grew up in the coffee growing regions, made studying his obsession and overcame obstacles to become a professional football player and, later, a coach.

His maternal grandfather names a stadium in his hometown, Arturo Arbeláez. His father, Hernán Osorio, worked in a pharmaceutical laboratory. An Atlético Nacional fan, he was an alcoholic for a long time. He died on February 13, 2023, in Pereira. The health problems faced by his father, in fact, caused the coach to refuse several proposals from abroad in recent years.

“There are good players and bad ones. There are those who like to dedicate themselves and live for football and others who don’t. I had this problem at home, my father was a great, hard-working man, but for a long time he was an alcoholic. Brazilians and Colombians like to party and drink, but the English and Scottish people like them the most in the world and I lived with them for six years,” he said in an interview with the Bola da Vez program, on ESPNwhen he directed São Paulo in 2015.

One of his sons is a football player. Juan Sebastián Ceballos was born in the United States, is a midfielder and has already been called up for the Colombia under-17 team. Now 20 years old, he played for Deportivo Pereira and América de Cali and was at Leones FC, from Itagüi.

Past as a player and work as a bricklayer

“I always took football very seriously, from a young age I trained well.”

Osorio took his first steps in football at Escola Pedro José Rivera, in his hometown, Santa Rosa, at the time as goalkeeper. At the age of 12 he moved with his family to Pereira, where his career began to take off. He changed position, starting to play in midfield, when he joined the youth teams of the Deportivo Pereirawhere he debuted as a professional in 1982. He even joined the Colombian under-20 team alongside names like Carlos Valderrama.

His life and future seemed destined to be a player, but a serious injury to his knee completely changed his plans. Osorio took a break from football, left his parents’ house and decided to move to the U.S, at age 24, to study English. Supported by his grandfather, he balanced studies and football, worked in restaurants as a waiter and also in construction. For a year his company was a stone crusher. He then won a college scholarship to study Exercise Science and Human Performance in Connecticut. The routine was always the same: she studied, played and worked.

Already graduated, he directed amateur teams of New York and played for several clubs in the state for around six years, being an assistant and physical trainer. In 2000, he got his first chance as an assistant with the MetroStars, the first name of the New York Red Bulls, in 2000. He majored in football science at John Moores University in Liverpool – it was there where he obtained his “A” license for UEFA coaches and learned more about pedagogy, methodology and training structure. In 2001, he received an invitation from then English coach Kevin Keegan to work as a trainer at Manchester Citywhere he became an assistant and stayed until 2006, long before the club’s “rich” era.

“They interviewed me with 24 other candidates. Then four left and after some work sessions, two weeks later, Kevin called me to let me know that I had been chosen”, recalls Osorio.

At the age of 35, he then made the decision to pursue a career as a coach. The first opportunity to show his qualities appeared in the Millionaires-COL, in 2006. It was there that he earned the “ungrateful” nickname of “El recrecionista”. His training methods included physical work with the ball, and caused players to laugh, according to journalist Antonio Casale, from the Colombian newspaper The Spectator.

Throughout his career, he also managed other teams in his country, such as Once Caldas It is Atlético Nacional; in MLS he commanded Chicago Fire It is New York Red Bulls; passed through Mexican football at the head of Puebla and had only one experience in Brazil, in command of the São Pauloin 2015. He was also coach of the national teams Mexico It’s from Paraguay. His last club was the Egyptian Zamalek.

“He feels football with passion, as only a child can feel his favorite game,” wrote journalist Antonio Casale, in an article on the website El Espectador in 2018

Peak at Atlético Nacional and stints with national teams

In front of Atlético NacionalOsorio lived his peak and won six titles in three seasons: Copa de Colombia 2012, Superliga de Colombia 2012, Apertura 2013 tournament, Finalizacion 2013 tournament, Copa de Colombia 2013 and Apertura 2014 tournament. The most successful coach in the club’s history, he is very beloved by the fans.

The biggest goal of his career was to command a selection in a World Cup. He succeeded twice. First with the Mexico, in 2018, when he accepted an invitation from the federation and left São Paulo. With the coach in charge, the team beat Germany in the group stage of the World Cup and reached the round of 16 – being eliminated by Brazil. In total, there were 52 games, with 33 wins, nine draws and 10 defeats, the best performance at the head of the team in the last 28 years.

Afterwards, he took over the selection of the Paraguaybut only took charge of one match – a 1-1 draw with South Africa, a friendly played in November 2018. He cited family reasons and left in February of the following year, after five months.

Constant rotation and training routine

Demanding, Osorio enjoys high-intensity, competitive activities, is a fan of offensive football and also pays attention to the human side of the players, believing that dialogue is a fundamental part of training. The most striking characteristic of his ideas is the constant rotation in the lineup. When he commanded Atlético Nacional, for example, he ended up not repeating formations for 149 matches or three years. In the Mexico national team, he fielded 49 formations in 49 games.

In favor of providing opportunities for athletes, he understands that rotation is a principle of the game and that each one can perform well in at least two positions.

“It’s a big challenge and, within that, players understand that rotation is not a principle of the game, but of life. You don’t compare players for money, history or prestige. This is all respected. But in a group everyone must be equally important”, he said in his presentation at Morumbi.

One of the clubs where the coach applied his method was at São Paulo. In addition to the common changes in the starting lineups, he also made innovations and changed position players. There were those who didn’t like it. The first was Michel Bastos, who moved from attack to left back. Another episode involved Ganso, who didn’t like being substituted in a match against Coritiba, in the 2015 Brasileirão, refused to greet Osorio and even kicked a glass of water before going to the bench.

Passage through São Paulo

Osorio’s only experience in Brazilian football was in 2015, when he managed São Paulo for four and a half months. At the time, he resigned after accepting an invitation to lead the Mexico national team. At Tricolor in São Paulo, he made a habit of calling players by first name. Pato became “Alexander”, in reference to the name Alexandre; Souza was “Josef” and Centurión, “Ricardo”.

“They say that what is most important to a human being is their name. That’s why I make a point of calling them by their first name”, he said in an interview.

During his time at the club, he studied Portuguese and found himself in the middle of a turbulent political period, in addition to the complicated financial situation and the departure of eight players, including publicly criticizing the Tricolor board for sales.

“It happens that if I get into a dispute, I listen and give my opinion. I understand the club’s position of selling players, but I don’t agree. I prefer to win little and have a chance to fight for the title.”

Attack on player

In 2022, Osorio was the protagonist of an attack during a match in Colombia in the first phase of the Copa Sudamericana. Then coach of América de Cali, the coach stepped on striker Juan Mosquera, from Independiente Medellín. The player had fallen close to the bench when he was stamped on (see below). According to local press reports, the coach even called his opponent a “sissy”. He was not punished.

The game ended 2-1 for América de Cali in normal time, leading to penalties. Independiente Medellín won the duel 3-1 on kicks, and Osório’s team was eliminated from Sula. After the game, Independiente defender Cadavid recorded a video and made a point of provoking the coach. “Why don’t you step on me?”

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