José Antonio Letelier Henríquez (born 23 May 1966) is a Chilean football coach and former professional goalkeeper. He was the head coach of the Chile women's national football team from 2015 to 2023. He is currently in charge of Peruvian side Alianza Lima (women) [es].

José Letelier
José Letelier with Chile national football team in 2021
Personal information
Full name José Antonio Letelier Henríquez
Date of birth (1966-05-23) 23 May 1966 (age 58)
Place of birth Santiago, Chile
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Alianza Lima women [es]
Youth career
1979–1982 Universidad de Chile
1983–1986 Colo-Colo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1991 Colo-Colo
1988Alianza Lima (loan)
1989Deportes Valdivia (loan)
1991–1992 Atlético Morelia
1993 Huachipato
1994–1995 Deportes Linares
1996 Municipal Las Condes
1997–1999 Deportes Linares
Managerial career
2010–2015 Colo-Colo women
2015–2023 Chile women
2023– Alianza Lima women [es]
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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Letelier started playing in the youth categories of Universidad de Chile, before switching to rivals Colo-Colo where he was taken on as a professional in 1987.[1] In 1988 Colo-Colo sent Letelier and three other young players – Francisco Huerta,Parcko Quiroz and René Pinto – on loan to Alianza Lima, whose team had perished in the 1987 Alianza Lima plane crash.[2] After a further loan at Deportes Valdivia, he returned to Colo-Colo and understudied Daniel Morón and Marcelo Ramírez in the club's 1991 Copa Libertadores-winning squad.

He was signed by Mexican club Atlético Morelia, where he played in 1991 and 1992, coinciding with his compatriot Juan Gutiérrez.[3] He then completed his career back in Chile, with stints at Huachipato and Deportes Linares.[4]

Coaching career

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After retiring as a player, Letelier trained as a PE teacher and obtained his coaching licences from the Instituto Nacional del Fútbol (INAF). He began coaching goalkeepers in Colo-Colo's boys' teams, then took charge of the club's women's section in 2010. He won the Chilean women's football championship ten times in succession, the last nine under the Apertura and Clausura format. When Colo-Colo won the 2012 Copa Libertadores Femenina, Letelier became the first individual to be part of winning squads in both the male and female Libertadores tournaments.[5]

In June 2015 he was appointed technical director of the Chile women's national football team, with his first task to prepare an under 20 team for the 2015 South American U-20 Women's Championship.[6] When the senior women's national team played their first fixture in three years in May 2017, they thrashed hapless Peru 12–0.[7] At the 2018 Copa América Femenina, Letelier steered hosts Chile to a runners-up finish, securing qualification to their first ever FIFA Women's World Cup in 2019.[8]

In October 2023, he assumed as the coach of the Alianza Lima women's team [es].[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Una carrera marcada por el bajo perfil" (in Spanish). La Tercera. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  2. ^ "José Letelier, arquero que defendió a Alianza Lima tras la tragedia del equipo limeño en 1987: "Al principio quise volver de inmediato a Chile, pero al día siguiente se me pasó"" (in Spanish). Diario el Día. 1 December 2016. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Club Atlético MONARCAS MORELIA". Fútbol en América (in Spanish). 2 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  4. ^ "El archivo secreto de José Letelier: el origen noventero del técnico que llevará al Mundial a la Roja Femenina" (in Spanish). RedGol.cl. 23 April 2018. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  5. ^ Pizarro, Gonzalo (26 November 2012). "José Letelier: "This is for all Chileans"" (in Spanish). Colo-Colo. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  6. ^ "José Letelier es el nuevo entrenador de selección chilena femenina" (in Spanish). 24 Horas (Chilean TV program). 16 June 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Conozca a las protagonistas que brillaron en la histórica goleada de 12-0 de la "Roja" femenina de fútbol" (in Spanish). El Mercurio. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  8. ^ "José Letelier valora los duelos de La Roja femenina ante Italia y Cataluña: "Son potencias a nivel mundial"" (in Spanish). RedGol.cl. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  9. ^ Solís Ruiz, Miguel (19 October 2023). "José Letelier vuelve a Matute: llegó como arquero tras accidente del Fokker y ahora dirigirá a Alianza Lima Femenino". Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 October 2023.
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