Sportskeeda Football Awards 2016: Manager of the Year 2016

#10 Reinaldo Rueda: Total Score = 2 (Experts pick 10; Fans vote 10 tied)

Rueda celebrates with the Copa Libertadores Trophy

Reinaldo Rueda came into footballing prominence in 2003 when he took the Colombian U-20 team to 3^rd in the FIFA World Youth Championship, the same year he took the U-17 to 4^th in the U-17 World Cup. He makes this list as the left-field entry, though, because of what he did with Atletico Nacional.

The club of the Two Escobars (Pablo and Andres), the Medellin-based club won the Copa Libertadores (a notoriously tough competition to win) in the first half of the year, and guided them to the finals of the Copa Sudamericana in the second half (where they were slated to meet the ill-fated Brazilians of Chapocoense).

Throughout his tenure at Medellin, he’s had a fantastic record – 82 Played: 11 Losses, 23 Draws, 48 Wins to have a Win record of 58.54%. Along with the Copa Libertadores where they beat Rosario Central (Argentina) in the quarterfinals, Sao Paulo (Brazil) in the semifinals and Independiente del Valle (Paraguay) in the final and that tragic Copa Sudamericana final, they also lifted the Copa Colombiana this year – marking Atletico Nacional’s rise back to prominence in style.

The last time they were big in South America was in 1989, when the two Escobars were in their heyday, and it’s thanks to Rueda that they are back on the big stage.