Hugo Eduardo de León Rodríguez (born 27 February 1958) is a Uruguayan
football coach and former player, who played as a
defender.
Club career
De León joined
Nacional in 1977. With Nacional, he won two Uruguayan league titles, in 1977 and 1980, the
Copa Libertadores in
1980. In 1981, he left Nacional to play for
Gremio therefore missing the final game of the
1980 Intercontinental Cup which Nacional would subsequently win. With Gremio he won the
Copa Libertadores and the
Intercontinental Cup in 1983. After spells in Brazil and Spain he returned to Nacional in 1988, to win the
Copa Libertadores 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 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
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...
. De León helped the Uruguay national team win the
1980 Mundialito, 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. 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