Koldo


Jesús Luis Álvarez de Eulate Güergue, known as Koldo, is an Andorran retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and the manager of Andorra.

Playing career

Born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Basque Country, Spain, Koldo played his entire career in the country. He signed in the 1990 summer transfer window with Atlético Madrid from local CD Aurrerá de Vitoria, but struggled to appear even for the reserves; due to injury to main squad first-choice Abel Resino, he was on the substitutes bench in the 1990–91 Copa del Rey final, against RCD Mallorca.
Koldo resumed his career in the lower leagues, being second or third-choice. In 1994, he signed with FC Andorra which competed in the Spanish football league system, going on to remain with the club for 14 of the following 15 seasons and retiring at nearly 39 years of age. After being naturalized, he began appearing with the Andorra national team, making his debut on 3 June 1998 in a 0–3 friendly loss to Brazil.
On 10 June 2009, Koldo played his last international, a 0–6 defeat against England for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Arguably one of the best players in the match, he received a standing ovation from the opposing fans for his efforts, after he was substituted in injury time; previously, in November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as Andorra's Golden Player by the Andorran Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.

Coaching career

On 2 February 2010, Koldo was appointed as the Andorra national team's manager, replacing David Rodrigo. His first win came seven years and 20 days later, 2–0 over fellow minnows San Marino in a friendly; on 25 March 2017, nearly 12 years after the last point won in official matches, he led the side to a 0–0 draw against Faroe Islands for the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. On 9 June, for the same competition, a 1–0 win over Hungary in Andorra la Vella was achieved, the first competitive one since October 2004.

Statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Atlético Madrid