Benjamín Monterroso

Benjamín Eduardo ("''Mincho''") Monterroso Díaz (born January 1, 1952) is a Guatemalan football coach and former midfielder who spent the majority of his playing career at the local club Municipal, and is also a former player and current manager of the Guatemalan women's national team.

Playing career

Monterroso played for Municipal from 1970 to 1979, being part of the squad that won the IV CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1974. He also played in the only Copa Interamericana final played by a Guatemalan team. After a 1–1 aggregate against Argentina's Independiente, Monterroso missed during the penalty shootout. Aside from the CONCACAF honors, Municipal won three league championships with Mincho, in 1973, 1974, and 1976. Monterroso scored 21 goals in all competitions for Municipal, and after a decade at the club, he played for the clubs Juventud Retalteca (1980 to 1981), Cobán Imperial (1982 to 1986) and Comunicaciones (1987).

He was a playing member of the Guatemala national team from 1971 to 1986, participating in two World Cup qualification processes, one Olympic tournament, and was a member of the Guatemalan team that won a bronze medal at the 1983 Pan American Games. During the 1974 World Cup qualification, ''Mincho'' played four matches, scoring one goal against Haiti.Figures on World Cup qualification matches played and goals scored are taken from and subsequent yearly pages. There is a discrepancy as to the information on matches played during the 1974 World Cup qualification tournament between those pages (4) and th
FIFA Player Statistics
page (2). He then was part of the squad that qualified to the 1976 Olympic tournament, playing in all three of Guatemala's matches at the Olympic Games in Montreal. In 1976 and 1977, he played in eleven matches during the 1978 World Cup qualification process, scoring one goal against El Salvador.

Coaching career

Monterroso coached the Guatemala national team from December 1998 to December 1999, during which time the team finished runner-up at the 1999 UNCAF Nations Cup. He coached the Olympic squad during part of the qualification campaign for the 2000 Olympic Games. He was named national team coach a second time from December 2003 to 2004, without coaching any official matches. Among the clubs Monterroso coached are Municipal (1997 to 1998, promoting eventual international forward Carlos Ruiz), Universidad de San Carlos (2003 ''Clausura''), Deportivo Jalapa (2004 to 2005), and Suchitepéquez (2005).

In January 2007, he was appointed head coach of the Guatemala women's national football team, but in October 2008 he returned to coaching the men's national team, as the successor to Ramón Maradiaga. remaining in charge until 2009.

Monterroso became the manager of club ''Unifut'' in the women's top division of Guatemala in 2010, winning four consecutive league titles as of the end of 2011. His two daughters Coralia and María play for the club and are also members of the national women's team.

He was appointed coach of the Guatemala women's U-20 team on 6 February 2012.

References and notes

External links

FIFA.com – Individual record at FIFA tournaments

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monterroso, Benjamin
1952 births
Living people
Footballers from Guatemala City
Guatemalan men's footballers
Guatemala men's international footballers
Pan American Games bronze medalists for Guatemala
Pan American Games medalists in football
Footballers at the 1983 Pan American Games
Olympic footballers for Guatemala
Footballers at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Comunicaciones F.C. players
C.S.D. Municipal players
Guatemalan football managers
Guatemala national football team managers
Men's association football midfielders
Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games
Association football managers by women's national team