Gerardo Bedoya

Gerardo Alberto Bedoya Múnera (born 26 November 1975) is a Colombian former footballer and current manager. He began as a defender but he also played as a defensive midfielder.

Nicknamed "The Beast,"^[1] he currently holds the record for most red cards (46) received by any player in the history of the game.^[2][3]

Club career

Bedoya started his professional career with Deportivo Pereira in 1996. He joined Deportivo Cali in 1998 where he was part of the squad that won the league title in 1998.

In 2001, Bedoya moved to Argentina where he played for Racing Club de Avellaneda, helping the club to win the Apertura 2001 tournament; arguably his most important moment with the club came in that season, where he scored the equalizer in a 1-1 draw against River Plate with 2 matches to go.^[4] In 2004, he joined Colón de Santa Fe and in 2005 he moved to Boca Juniors where he only played 3 games (all in the Copa Libertadores) before moving to Mexico to play for Puebla F.C.

In 2005 Bedoya returned to Colombia to play for Atlético Nacional and in 2006 he joined Millonarios. After he went for a brief time to Envigado F.C. But then joined Boyacá Chicó F.C. for the 2010 season.

In 2011, Bedoya signed a one-year contract with Independiente Santa Fe.

Bedoya has the ignominy of being the professional footballer with the most red cards to his name (46 red cards).^[4] In the Bogota derby between Independiente Santa Fe and Millonarios on 23 September 2012, he received his 41st red card in a professional game, being sent off for the elbow and subsequent kick to the head aimed at Millonarios player Jhonny Ramirez.^[5] The offense also got him suspended for the next 15 matches. Bedoya has been sent off multiple times since.

International career

Bedoya made his debut for the Colombia national team in the 2000 Gold Cup match against Jamaica on 12 February 2000.^[6] He scored the equalizing goal in the quarter final penalty shootout victory against the USA on 19 February, where he also earned a red card in the last minute of extra time.^[7] Bedoya was also part of the Colombia squad that won the Copa América 2001, where he played five matches and scored a goal in the semi-finals victory against Honduras.^[8]

He played all five matches at the 2003 Confederations Cup, where Colombia finished in fourth place. Bedoya was a starting player in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, but was not called up for the 2007 Copa América. His last match for the national team was on 1 April 2009, a 2–0 loss against Venezuela.^[9]

Style of play

Throughout his career, Bedoya mainly played as a central or defensive midfielder, although he was even deployed on the Left flank on occasion, either as a full-back, wing-back, or as a defender, Centre back due to his versatility. he also possessed a powerful shot, and quick reactions, as well as an excellent positional sense and good anticipation, which enabled him to excel in this position; in his prime, he was widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. His energetic and combative box-to-box style of play, as well as his pace, tactical awareness and abilities as a ball-winner, he currently holds the record for most red cards (46) received by any player in the history of the game.^[10][11]

Coaching career

Following his retirement from his club career, Bedoya went into coaching. In his first position as assistant manager with Santa Fe in 2016, he was dismissed from the dugout after 21 minutes of a league fixture against Junior.^[4][12] That same year, he became caretaker manager of Santa Fe for one match after the departure of Alexis García, and in 2019 he was again appointed as caretaker manager of Santa Fe and soon after he was confirmed as manager on a permanent basis until the arrival of Harold Rivera.

Bedoya left Santa Fe at the end of 2021 and in January 2022 he was appointed as manager of Valledupar in the Colombian second tier, but was dismissed in August 2022. On 12 May 2023 he returned to Santa Fe for a third stint as caretaker, replacing Harold Rivera who had resigned the previous day.^[13]

In March 2025, Bedoya joined Alexis García's coaching staff at Unión Magdalena as assistant manager,^[14] taking García's place on the bench for matches in the 2025 Apertura tournament since the head coach was ineligible to do so for having been in charge of another team in the same tournament.^[15] The following 29 July Unión Magdalena appointed Bedoya as caretaker manager, following Alexis García's resignation.^[16] Bedoya himself resigned four days later.^[17]

Career statistics

International

Colombia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bedoya goal.

List of career red cards

Club

International

Coaching

Honours

Club

Deportivo Cali

• Categoría Primera A: 1998

Racing

• Argentine Primera División: 2001 Apertura

Independiente Santa Fe

• Categoría Primera A: 2012 Apertura

International

Colombia

• Copa América: 2001

Records

• Most red cards received by a player: 46

References

1. ^ Wright, Chris (27 February 2020). "Sergio Ramos' 26 career red cards are not even close to the record held by 'The Beast'". ESPN FC. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
2. ^ "Gerardo Bedoya, hombre récord de la Tarjeta Roja" (in Spanish). futbolred.com. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
3. ^ Hayward, Ben (3 July 2013). "Gerardo Bedoya shown 43rd red card of career". Goal. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
4. ^ Poole, Harry (21 July 2020). "Gerardo Bedoya: The story of the world's 'dirtiest' footballer". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
5. ^ Roden, Lee (25 September 2012). "Magazine: The Colombian defender sent off 41 times and more moments of madness featuring Souness and Cantona". Radio talkSPORT. Wireless Group. Archived from the original on 27 December 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
6. ^ "Colombia – Jamaica 1:0 (Gold Cup 2000 USA, Group A)". worldfootball.net. 12 February 2000. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
7. ^ "USA – Colombia 1:2 (Gold Cup 2000 USA, Quarter-finals)". worldfootball.net. 19 February 2000. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
8. ^ "Colombia – Honduras 2:0 (Copa América 2001 Colombia, Semi-finals)". worldfootball.net. 27 July 2001. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
9. ^ "Venezuela derrotó 2-0 a Colombia y nos dejó muy lejos del Mundial" (in Spanish). Caracol Radio. 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
10. ^ "Gerardo Bedoya, hombre récord de la Tarjeta Roja" (in Spanish). futbolred.com. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
11. ^ torcedores.com/ Top 3: Saiba quem são os jogadores mais vezes expulsos na história do futebol
12. ^ "'World’s dirtiest footballer' sent off 21 minutes into senior coaching debut". The Guardian. 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
13. ^ "Gerardo Bedoya, técnico encargado de Independiente Santa Fe" [Gerardo Bedoya, caretaker manager of Independiente Santa Fe] (in Spanish). Caracol Radio. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
14. ^ "Gerardo Bedoya vuelve al fútbol colombiano: asumirá duro reto en Liga" [Gerardo Bedoya returns to Colombian football: he will take on tough challenge in League] (in Spanish). Futbolred. 14 March 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
15. ^ "Alexis García es nuevo director técnico de Unión Magdalena, pero Gerardo Bedoya será quien esté en el banquillo" [Alexis García is Unión Magdalena's new manager, but Gerardo Bedoya will be the one on the bench] (in Spanish). Claro Sports. 15 March 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
16. ^ "Alexis García renunció a la dirección técnica de Unión Magdalena" [Alexis García resigned from Unión Magdalena's technical direction] (in Spanish). El Espectador. 29 July 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
17. ^ "Emotiva confesión de Gerardo Bedoya: razón por la que no continuará como técnico del Unión Magdalena" [Gerardo Bedoya's emotional confession: why he won't continue as coach of Unión Magdalena] (in Spanish). Caracol Radio. 2 August 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2025.

External links

• 1507
• Argentine Primera statistics at Fútbol XXI (in Spanish)