Guillermo Jorge Almada Alves (born 18 June 1966) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the current head coach of Liga MX club América.
.jpg) Almada in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Guillermo Jorge Almada Alves | ||
| Date of birth | 18 June 1966 | ||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | América (head coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1988 | Defensor Sporting | ||
| 1988–1989 | O'Higgins | ||
| 1989–1995 | Defensor Sporting | ||
| 1995–1996 | Cerro | ||
| 1996 | América de Cali | ||
| 1996–1998 | Huracán Buceo | ||
| 1998–1999 | Defensor Sporting | ||
| 1999 | Aurora | ||
| 1999–2000 | Progreso | ||
| 2000–2002 | Tacuarembó | ||
| 2002–2003 | River Plate Montevideo | ||
| 2003–2005 | Montevideo Wanderers | ||
| 2005–2006 | Tacuarembó | ||
| 2006 | Fénix | ||
| 2006–2007 | Racing Montevideo | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2008 | Progreso | ||
| 2009–2010 | Tacuarembó | ||
| 2011–2015 | River Plate Montevideo | ||
| 2015–2019 | Barcelona SC | ||
| 2019–2021 | Santos Laguna | ||
| 2022–2025 | Pachuca | ||
| 2025 | Valladolid | ||
| 2025–2026 | Oviedo | ||
| 2026– | América | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
editAs a player, Almada came through the youth ranks at Defensor Sporting, making his professional debut in 1985. He would go on to represent the club across three separate spells, winning two Primera División titles during that time. His playing career spanned 22 years, during which he played for twelve different clubs in four countries.[1]
Coaching career
editFollowing his retirement as a player, Almada began his coaching career in Uruguay, where he managed Tacuarembó and River Plate de Montevideo.
In June 2015, Almada assumed the role of head coach at Barcelona SC in Ecuador. In December 2016, he successfully led the club to secure its 15th league title.
In April 2019, Almada moved to Mexico to coach Santos Laguna.[2] He guided the team to the final of the Guardianes 2021 tournament, where they ultimately finished in second place after a narrow defeat to Cruz Azul.
Almada became the head coach of Pachuca in December 2021.[3] During his tenure, he developed a young, dynamic team with a distinct playing style that won the Apertura 2022 championship, followed by the CONCACAF Champions League.
In the inaugural edition of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, Pachuca eliminated Botafogo, who were the reigning CONMEBOL champions at the time.[4] They ended their campaign as runners-up, following a defeat to Real Madrid in the final match. In May 2025, Almada stepped down from his position.[5]
On 8 July 2025, Segunda División club Real Valladolid announced Almada as their new head coach.[6] He left the club on 15 December.[7][8]
On 16 December 2025, a day after departing Valladolid, Almada was named as the new manager of La Liga side Real Oviedo, becoming their third manager of the campaign after Veljko Paunović and Luis Carrión.[9] Almada left the club at the end of the season, following Oviedo's relegation.[10]
On 7 June 2026, Almada returned to Mexico to become the new head coach of América.[11]
Managerial statistics
edit- As of match played 23 May 2026
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Tacuarembó |  |
30 April 2009 | 13 October 2010 | 37 | 11 | 6 | 20 | 47 | 65 | −18 | 29.73 |
| River Plate | 5 April 2011 | 6 June 2015 | 135 | 70 | 30 | 35 | 235 | 156 | +79 | 51.85 | |
| Barcelona SC |  |
7 June 2015 | 13 April 2019 | 184 | 94 | 48 | 42 | 289 | 175 | +114 | 51.09 |
| Santos Laguna |  |
14 April 2019 | 29 November 2021 | 103 | 45 | 29 | 29 | 158 | 116 | +42 | 43.69 |
| Pachuca | 2 December 2021 | 29 May 2025 | 156 | 72 | 39 | 45 | 252 | 197 | +55 | 46.15 | |
| Real Valladolid |  |
8 July 2025 | 15 December 2025 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 20 | 17 | +3 | 31.58 |
| Oviedo | |
16 December 2025 | 23 May 2026 | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 19 | 34 | −15 | 18.18 |
| América | |
7 June 2026 | Present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | — |
| Total | 656 | 302 | 165 | 189 | 1,020 | 760 | +260 | 46.04 | |||
Honours
editPlayer
editDefensor Sporting
- Uruguayan Primera División: 1987, 1991
Manager
editRiver Plate (Montevideo)
- Torneo Preparación: 2012
Barcelona de Guayaquil
- Ecuadorian Serie A: 2015–16
Pachuca
Individual
- Liga MX Best Manager: 2022–23
- The Best of America Best Liga MX Manager: 2022
Notes
editReferences
edit- ↑ "El uruguayo Guillermo Almada, nuevo entrenador del Real Valladolid". IUSPORT: EL OTRO LADO DEL DEPORTE (in Spanish). 7 July 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ↑ "Santos hace oficial a Guillermo Almada como su técnico" (in Spanish). ESPN México. 11 April 2019.
- ↑ "Guillermo Almada es nombrado técnico de Pachuca" (in Spanish). ESPN México. 2 December 2021.
- ↑ "De la mano de Guillermo Almada, Pachuca goleó a Botafogo por la Copa Intercontinental" (in Spanish). ESPN México. 11 December 2024.
- ↑ "Pachuca hace oficial la salida de Guillermo Almada" (in Spanish). ESPN México. 28 May 2025.
- ↑ "Guillermo Almada 2026" (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 8 July 2025.
- ↑ "Almada deja de ser entrenador del Real Valladolid: «Nadie puede vestir este escudo sin convencimiento»" [Almada leaves as Real Valladolid manager: "No one can wear this badge without conviction"] (in Spanish). elnortedecastilla.es. 15 December 2025. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
- ↑ "Sisinio González dirigirá al Real Valladolid en Eibar" [Sisinio González will manage Real Valladolid in Eibar] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 15 December 2025. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
- ↑ "Guillermo Almada, nuevo entrenador del Real Oviedo" [Guillermo Almada, new manager of Real Oviedo] (in Spanish). Real Oviedo. 16 December 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
- ↑ "Guillermo Almada no seguirá con Real Oviedo". espndeportes.espn.com. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ↑ "América anuncia a Guillermo Almada como nuevo director técnico". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 June 2026.
External links
edit- Jose Guillermo Almada at BDFA (in Spanish)
- Guillermo Almada coach profile at Soccerway (archived)
- Guillermo Almada at BeSoccer
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