Juan Sebastián Botero (born July 4, 1986, in

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Ames ha ...

), is an American-born Colombian soccer manager and former midfielder. His parents moved from Colombia to the United States before he was born. He is the current coach of the youth squads of Colombian club

Independiente Medellín Deportivo Independiente Medellín, also known as Independiente Medellín or DIM, is a Colombian professional football club (association football), football club based in Medellín that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their ...

Football career

Then, Botero and his family moved back to Colombia when he was one year old, and he joined the

youth system at age 13. He made his professional first team debut for Medellín at age 17, on August 3, 2003, versus

Atlético Huila Atlético Huila is a professional Colombian association football, football team based in Neiva, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. The club was founded in 1990, making it one of the youngest professional football clubs in Colombia. ...

. In his four years with the club, he went on to make 46 first team appearances, playing his final game in June 2007 against

Cúcuta Deportivo Cúcuta Deportivo Fútbol Club S. A. (Spanish ), commonly referred to as Cúcuta Deportivo, is a professional Colombian football club from the city of Cúcuta. Founded on 10 September 1924, it is one of the oldest active football clubs in the co ...

. In 2003, Botero played for the

Colombia national under-17 football team The Colombia national under-17 football team represents Colombia in international under-17 football competitions and is overseen by the Colombian Football Federation. The team's most notable performances in the FIFA U-17 World Cup was both in 20 ...

in the South American U-17 Championship held in Bolivia, scoring a goal against

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

while also playing against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. This Colombian team was managed by coach

Eduardo Lara Eduardo Lara Lozano (born 4 September 1959 in Cali) is a Colombian football manager. Lara has coached all levels of the Colombian national youth team. He is currently the manager of Alianza. Career Lara led the Colombia U17s to a third plac ...

. Botero was on the development roster with

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

during 2007, but was waived at the end of the year. He was later picked up to play for Atlético Huila to perform in the

Copa Mustang Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Association * Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association * Parlia ...

in Colombia, and played for

Once Caldas Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian Association football, football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. The club plays its home games at Estadio Palogrande. The club wa ...

during the second half of 2009. Then, in 2012 he was hired by Cúcuta Deportivo.

Retirement and managerial career

In 2013 and after playing for

Deportivo Rionegro Leones F.C., also known as Itagüí Leones, is a professional Colombian football team based in Itagüí playing in the Categoría Primera B starting from 2019. They play their home games at the Estadio Metropolitano Ciudad de Itagüí. History ...

and Atlético Huila again, Botero decided to retire from his activity as a professional soccer player in Colombia. From that moment on, he dedicated himself to coaching minor soccer divisions in the South American country, including the youth teams of

and

Fortaleza C.E.I.F. Fortaleza C.E.I.F. is a professional Colombian Association football, football team based in Bogotá, currently playing in the Categoría Primera A, the top tier of Football in Colombia, Colombian football. The team has been promoted to the Categ ...

Likewise, in later years, he began to give sports conferences, narrating and teaching about the soccer sports career, starting in minor divisions, until reaching the professional soccer environment. On May 9, 2023, he was appointed as the caretaker coach of Independiente Medellín.

Clubs

Most of his sports career was developed in Colombia, a country where he continued to live after retiring as a professional player.

References

External links

Juan Sebastián Botero Arango
Postbon League (page in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Botero, Sebastian 1986 births Living people Colombian men's footballers Colombia men's youth international footballers 21st-century Colombian sportsmen American men's soccer players American people of Colombian descent Independiente Medellín footballers FC Dallas players Atlético Huila footballers Soccer players from Iowa Once Caldas footballers Cúcuta Deportivo footballers Leones F.C. footballers Categoría Primera A players Men's association football midfielders Independiente Medellín managers