Nelson Flórez
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nelson Alfonso Flórez Jiménez | ||
| Date of birth | 1 March 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Bogotá, Colombia | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cúcuta Deportivo (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1987–1993 | Santa Fe | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1998 | Santa Fe | ||
| 1999 | Millonarios | 16 | (2) |
| 1999–2000 | Atlético Nacional | 31 | (3) |
| 2001 | Deportivo Pasto | ||
| 2001 | Santa Fe | ||
| 2002–2003 | Deportivo Pereira | 33 | (1) |
| 2004 | Deportivo Pasto | ||
| 2005 | Santa Fe | ||
| 2006–2008 | Cúcuta Deportivo | 89 | (2) |
| 2009–2010 | Academia | 18 | (5) |
| International career | |||
| 1993 | Colombia U20 | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2013–2015 | Santa Fe (youth) | ||
| 2016–2020 | Millonarios (youth) | ||
| 2018–2020 | Colombia U20 (assistant) | ||
| 2018 | Colombia (assistant) | ||
| 2020 | Colombia U23 (assistant) | ||
| 2021–2022 | Fortaleza CEIF | ||
| 2023–2025 | Barranquilla | ||
| 2025– | Cúcuta Deportivo | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Nelson Alfonso Flórez Jiménez (born 1 March 1974) is a Colombian football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the current maanger of Cúcuta Deportivo.
Club career
Born in Bogotá, Flórez joined Independiente Santa Fe's youth sides at the age of 13, and made his first team debut in 1993, aged 19.[1] During his first spell at the club, he was mainly used as a right-back.
In 1999, Flórez moved to Millonarios, but signed for Atlético Nacional shortly after. Ahead of the 2001 season, he agreed to a deal with Deportivo Pasto, but subsequently returned to Santa Fe.
In 2002, Flórez joined Deportivo Pereira. He returned to Pasto in 2004, before rejoining Santa Fe for a third spell in the following year.
In 2006, Flórez moved to Cúcuta Deportivo, and managed to play in two editions of the Copa Libertadores with the club. He signed for Academia in 2009, and retired with the club in the following year, aged 36.
International career
Flórez was a part of the Colombia national under-20 team in the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia.[2]
Managerial career
After retiring, Flórez returned to his first club Santa Fe as a manager of the youth sides. In 2016, he moved to another club he represented as a player, Millonarios, to become their under-20 manager.[3]
In 2018, while working at Millonarios, Flórez became the assistant of Arturo Reyes at the Colombia national under-20 team. He left the role in February 2020, after being behind Reyes at the full side (in an interim manner) and at the under-23 team.
On 8 December 2020, Flórez was appointed manager of Categoría Primera B side Fortaleza CEIF.[4] After narrowly missing out promotion in the last round of the Torneo II semi-finals, he cried during the post-match interview after knowing the Llaneros v Unión Magdalena controversy,[5] but remained in charge in the following campaign, where he also missed out promotion in the semi-finals.
On 22 November 2022, Flórez was named Barranquilla FC manager.[6] On 28 March 2025, he was sacked after a poor start of the year.[7]
On 28 August 2025, Flórez returned to Cúcuta, now as manager.[8] He won the 2025 Torneo II, leading the club back to the Categoría Primera A after a five-year absence.
Honours
Player
Cúcuta Deportivo
Manager
Cúcuta Deportivo
References
- ^ "Rafael Dudamel, Grigori Méndez y Nelson Flórez, de compañeros en Santa Fe a rivales en selecciones" [Rafael Dudamel, Grigori Méndez and Nelson Flórez, from teammates at Santa Fe to opponents in their national teams] (in Spanish). Caracol Televisión. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
- ^ "Nelson Flórez y sus dos mundiales: jugó en Australia 1993 y ahora es asistente técnico en Polonia 2019" [Nelson Flórez and his two World Cups: he played in Australia in 1993 and now is an assistant manager in Poland in 2019] (in Spanish). Caracol Televisión. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
- ^ "(VÍDEO) Nelson Flórez, DT Fortaleza CEIF: «Nadie nos quita el sueño de ascender a la A»" [(VIDEO) Nelson Flórez, manager of Fortaleza CEIF: "Nothing takes away the dream of promoting to the A"] (in Spanish). Dimayor. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
- ^ "Fortaleza CEIF hace cambio de técnico pensando en ascender en el 2021" [Fortaleza CEIF change manager thinking of promotion in 2021] (in Spanish). Rotonda Deportiva. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
- ^ "Rolo Flórez, DT de Fortaleza: "No me da vergüenza llorar, me siento robado"" [Rolo Flórez, Fortaleza manager: "I am not embarassed of crying, I feel assaulted"] (in Spanish). Caracol Radio. 4 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
- ^ "¡De la nevera, al nivel del mar! Nelson 'Rolo' Flórez es nuevo entrenador de Barranquilla FC" [From the mist to the sea level! Nelson 'Rolo' Flórez is the new manager of Barranquilla FC] (in Spanish). Win Sports. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
- ^ "Nelson Flórez no es más el entrenador del Barranquilla FC" [Nelson Flórez is no longer manager of Barranquilla FC] (in Spanish). El Heraldo. 28 March 2025. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
- ^ "Cúcuta Deportivo recurre a uno de sus campeones: Nelson 'El Rolo' Flórez, nuevo DT del rojinegro" [Cúcuta Deportivo turn to one of their champions: Nelson 'El Rolo' Flórez, new manager of the red-and-black] (in Spanish). La Opinión. 28 August 2025. Retrieved 7 December 2025.