Hugo Eduardo de León Rodríguez (born 27 February 1958) is a Uruguayan

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former player, who played as a defender.

Club career

De León joined

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

in 1977. With Nacional, he won two Uruguayan league titles, in 1977 and 1980, the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

. In 1981, he left Nacional to play for Gremio therefore missing the final game of the

1980 Intercontinental Cup The 1980 Intercontinental Cup was an association football match played on 11 February 1981 between Nacional of Uruguay, winners of the 1980 Copa Libertadores, and Nottingham Forest of England, winners of the 1979–80 European Cup. The match ...

which Nacional would subsequently win. With Gremio he won the

and the Intercontinental Cup in 1983. After spells in Brazil and Spain he returned to Nacional in 1988, to win the

and Intercontinental Cup in that year, and the

Copa Interamericana The Copa Interamericana ( en, Interamerican Cup) was an annual club football competition contested between a representative from North America (CONCACAF) and South America (CONMEBOL). Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACA ...

and

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana ( pt, CONMEBOL Recopa Sul-Americana), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club association football, football compe ...

in 1989. At the end of the year, he left Nacional to play for River Plate of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, where he won the 1989/1990 league title. He returned to Nacional in 1992 and won his third Uruguayan league title as a player. He retired in 1993.

International career

The 189 cm defender was

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

ped 48 times for

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

between July 1979 and June 1990, including four games at the 1990 World Cup. De León helped the Uruguay national team win the

1980 Mundialito The 1980 World Champions' Gold Cup (Spanish for ''"Copa de Oro de Campeones Mundiales"''), also known as Mundialito (''"Little World Cup"''), was a friendly international football tournament organized by the Uruguayan Football Association and sup ...

, a tournament celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first World Cup. De Leon also led Uruguay to a 2nd place finish at the 1989 Copa America hosted in Brazil.

Coaching career

As a coach, De León was in charge of several clubs in Uruguay, Brazil and México, including Nacional, Gremio and

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

. As coach of Nacional, they won the Uruguayan league titles of 1998, 2000 and 2001. Because of a conflict with the Uruguayan coachs association, who does not validate the coach course he took in Brazil, De León has not worked in Uruguay since 2004.

External links

Club Nacional de Football
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Hugo de 1958 births Living people People from Rivera Department Uruguayan footballers Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate footballers in Brazil Uruguayan expatriate footballers Uruguayan people of Spanish descent Association football defenders Uruguayan Primera División players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Argentine Primera División players La Liga players Uruguay under-20 international footballers Uruguay international footballers 1979 Copa América players 1989 Copa América players 1990 FIFA World Cup players Uruguayan football managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Expatriate football managers in Argentina Expatriate football managers in Brazil Expatriate football managers in Mexico Club Nacional de Football players Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Club Atlético River Plate footballers Santos FC players CD Logroñés footballers Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Ituano FC managers Fluminense FC managers C.F. Monterrey managers Club Nacional de Football managers Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense managers Uruguayan vice-presidential candidates