Hernán Darío Gómez


Hernán Darío Gómez Jaramillo, also known as El Bolillo, is a Colombian former footballer and football manager.

Career

He was an active player from 1966 to 1985, when he retired after a knee injury. Gómez played for the Colombia amateur team that participated at the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games. His career as a coach started while being assistant to Francisco Maturana while at Atlético Nacional and winning the 1989 Copa Libertadores. He would then become head coach in 1991 and led them to a Categoria Primera A title in 1991.
He joined Maturana while he became coach of Colombia and was his assistant at the 1987 Copa America where Colombia got third place. He also helped qualify the team to the 1990 FIFA World Cup and 1994 edition as well. This was during the so-called golden generation of Colombian football. In 1995, he was named head coach of Colombia and qualified them for the 1998 FIFA World Cup Colombia's 4th appearance overall and third consecutive appearance at the tournament. They went out at group stage with 1 win and 2 losses.
He successfully led Ecuador to their first World Cup finals in 2002. However, he resigned after a disappointing performance by the Ecuadorian team at the Copa América 2004.
During the World Cup 2006, he was a commentator for Canal RCN.
On 5 May 2010, the Colombian Football Federation announced that Gómez was appointed as the successor of Eduardo Lara, who left the selection after failing to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals.
On 15 February 2014, Gómez was announced the new manager of Panama.
On 22 January 2016, Gómez was named 2015 CONCACAF Men's Coach of the Year.
On 10 October 2017, he led Panama to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the country's debut in this competition.
On July 17, 2018 he stepped down as Panama's head coach. Gomez said an "emotional farewell".
On 1 August 2018, Gomez returned to Ecuador as head coach of the national team.

Personal life

On 6 August 2011, at the pub "El Bembe" in Bogotá, Gómez attacked an unidentified woman. According to witnesses, Gómez hit the woman at least four times near the entrance of the pub where he was accompanied by the woman minutes before.
When the facts were known, Gómez released a statement asking for forgiveness for his behavior and resigned to his participation as a member of the technical committee of the U-20 World Football Championship.
However multiple organizations, like 'Casa de la Mujer', expressed their discontent with Gómez's actions and asked for his resignation as manager of the Colombian football team.
Finally because of pressure from the media, the Colombian football team's sponsors, political and social celebrities and the general public, he resigned as the manager of the Colombian football team.
On 13 February 2012, he took charge of first division Independiente Medellin on Monday, six months after resigning as coach of the national team.

Managerial statistics

World record as manager

To date, he is the only coach to have ever qualified three different national teams to a World Cup, and one of three people to have led at least three different national teams to a World Cup. He qualified Colombia to the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Ecuador to the 2002 FIFA World Cup and Panama to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. French manager Henri Michel also had previously achieved this with three teams: he led France to the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Morocco to the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Ivory Coast to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Bora Milutinovic and Carlos Alberto Parreira have guided five teams in World Cups, but without playing the qualification rounds.