Teófilo Gutiérrez

At 39 years old, Teófilo Gutiérrez has this physical status:

Teófilo Antonio Gutiérrez Roncancio (Spanish pronunciation: [te tjeres]; born 17 May 1985; Teo;stjeres] is a Colombian professional footballer who plays for Deportivo Cali and the Colombian national team.

Early life

Gutierrez and his six brothers grew up in Barranquilla's impoverished neighborhood of La Chinita. He claims he had a dangerous life as a child because rival gangs would have firedouts near his house.

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Club career

Gutierrez began his career with Barranquilla F.C., Atlético Junior's second division team, in 2006. He was called up to Junior's senior team in 2007 after scoring 16 goals in 28 appearances.

Gutiérrez's first years with the main squad were difficult to break into the starting eleven. In a 4–2 victory over Once Caldas on September 2, he scored his first goal. He earned a spot in the starting lineup and scored 11 goals, placing third in the scoring charts, only behind Freddy Montero and Carlos Quintero, tying Adrián Ramos and Milton Rodrez.

Gutiérrez was in outstanding form during the 2009 Apertura, scoring a total of 16 goals and winning the Golden Boot of the tournament. He scored six goals against Ccuta Deportivo and Envigado during the playoffs, as he tripped over six goals with hat-tricks. He scored 14 goals in the 2009 Finalización, finishing second to Jackson Martez's 18 goals.

He was named as the fourth world First Division top scorer of 2009 by the IFFHS after scoring 30 goals in the year.

Gutierrez was sold by Junior to Turkish club Trabzonspor for $3 million on January 13. He had a difficult time adjusting to Turkey's new country and style of play, which prevented him from being a regular on the starting eleven. He appeared in 11 league games but didn't score any goals.

Gutierrez's second season in Turkey was off to a promising start, scoring a hat trick against Bursaspor during his team's 3–0 win and receiving the man of the match award. In a 6–1 massacre of Sivasspor, he scored two goals on his first Süper Lig debut against Ankaragücü, as well as two more. On August 26, he scored his first UEFA Europa League goal against Liverpool. He moved to his country without Trabzonspor's authorization in October, citing a health issue. Doctors did not have any health issues after check-ups, while Trabzonspor ended his employment.

Trabzonspor accepted a bid from Argentina's side Racing Club on February 15, 2011. He scored twice in a 2–1 victory over San Lorenzo in his first game for the club on February 26th. In a 4–0 victory over Colón on March 13, he scored two more in a 4–0 victory. In a training session, he got into a fight with goalkeeper Mauro Dobler, which was the start of his tense spell at the club. In a 2–0 Avellaneda derby win at Estadio Presidente Perón on April 16, 2011, he scored and assisted. He scored 11 goals in the 2011 Clausura and was named the league's best scorer.

Despite being in the top of his game for La Academia, Gutierrez became embroiled with several of his teammates, causing friction between the fans and the club's administrators. His teammate Sebastián Saja allegedly fought him after an Avellaneda derby match, where he scored the first goal but was eventually dismissed in a 4-1 loss. He assaulted Saja and other coworkers with a paintball gun in the locker room just short of, and police were forced to intervene. The club eventually agreed to end his deal, and the following day, he left the club.

Gutierrez signed a short-term loan contract with Lan's, for whom he will compete in the Copa Libertadores just a few days after his premature departure from Racing Club. On May 2nd, he made his club debut on May 2nd and appeared as a replacement in the Copa Libertadores round of 16 defeats against Vasco da Gama at Estádio S.A. He also participated in the second leg a week later, where he scored a goal, but it wasn't enough as Lann's crashed out of the league on penalties. His time at Lan's was cut short after he left Argentina for his native Colombia without permission from the club, claiming that he was on international service. Lann's had to resign from the Colombia squad after it was discovered that he had not been chosen for the Colombia team. Junior was arranged for a six-month loan, but Los Tiburones, who had made a lot of effort in the transfer market to regain the Liga Postobón title, did not progress to the finals.

Gutiérrez was sold by Mexican side Cruz Azul in December 2012 and agreed to a three-year contract worth US$3 million, as well as a US$1.5 million per year. Despite being used as a replacement for Argentina's striker Mariano Pavone for the majority of the season, he still scored important goals for Cruz Azul in the Liguilla, including one in the final against América, but his team lost on penalties after a 2–2 draw over two legs. Gutierrez said he wanted to leave the Mexican club's River Plate after a six-month absence from Cruz Azul. He was part of the team that won the 2013 Copa MX Clausura, where he scored a vital goal against Chiapas in the quarter finals.

Cruz Azul and River Plate's coach Ramón D'az's persistent desire to bring the Colombian to his squad, the team's relationship worsened due to the team's continued effort to bring the Colombian to his team, according to a deal that was estimated to be around US$3 million in July 2013. Gutierrez has stated that it had been his dream to play for the Buenos Aires-based team. River Plate did not have enough funds for the player, and he later returned to Cruz Azul. However, the problems were addressed thanks to FIFA's involvement, and the transfer was completed in August 2013.

He made his debut in a 2–1 loss against Colón on August 25, where he scored his first goal. He will then be a member of the squad that crowned itself champion in the following tournament after scoring 6 goals. The Colombian scored ten goals in ten appearances in the 2014 Torneo de Transición under Marcelo Gallardo's leadership.

River Plate won the 2014 Copa Sudamericana after a 3–1 aggregate victory over Atlético Nacional in December 2014. Gutierrez's second title with the club was his second. He was named as the 2014 South American Footballer of the Year after Carlos Valderrama, owing to his outstanding results throughout the year. River Plate beat San Lorenzo in the 2015 Recopa Sudamericana in February, with Gutierrez appearing in both legs and striking the post twice in the first leg.

In the 2015 Copa Libertadores quarterfinals against Cruzeiro, he scored and assisted in a 3–0 triumph. In his last match for River, he scored in a 2–0 victory over Rosario Central, four days later.

Sporting CP reported the signing of the Colombian player on a three-year deal and a €40 million release clause on July 19, 2015. During the 2015-20 Champions League play-off matches against CSKA Moscow, he scored in the first and second legs, but it wasn't enough as Sporting lost 3–4 on aggregate and failed to advance to the group stage. Sporting finished third in their group and then were moved to the Europa League, where they were eventually disqualified in the round of 32 by Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Gutierrez scored Sporting's only goal in the victory over Estoril Praia on October 31. In a 3–1 victory over Beşiktaş on December 10, he scored the last goal. In Sporting's 5–1 victory over FC Arouca on March 18, 2016, he scored two goals. In a 2–5 away win at Belenenses, he added another brace two weeks later. In a victory over Sporting Braga, he scored his last goal for the club on May 15th.

Gutierrez was announced on August 6th, 2016 as a Rosario Central player on loan from Sporting. He scored a goal against Boca Juniors in La Bombonera but was dismissed shortly after because of his tumultuous celebration, in which he made a gesture across his chest indicating River Plate's uniform's diagonal cut. River Plate is Boca Junior's biggest competitor, so this was a big deal. He was given a two-game suspension as a result.

Marco Ruben and his assistant were involved in the 2016 Copa Argentina Final on December 15th, but Rosario lost 4–3 to his old team, River Plate.

He scored from the penalty spot and assisted Mauricio Martnez in his last match with the club on June 20, 2017, but he was disalled in a 3-3 draw to Talleres de Córdoba.

Gutierrez, the former mayor of Atlético Junior, was signed to a three-year contract on June 26, 2017. He made his debut in a 3–0 victory over La Equidad, scoring his third goal from the penalty spot. In the second leg of the finals against Independiente Medelln, he led his team to victory in Copa Colombia in 2017. He scored against Independence Medellin again this season, this time in the 2018 Finalizacion tournament. The match was a 4–1 win for Junior, and although Junior lost the second leg 3–1, the team retained the title thanks to a 5–4 aggregate score. Junior won the 2019 Apertura after defeating Deportivo Pasto on penalties, completing a "bicampeonato" (two-time champion) with Gutierrez playing in both legs. In July 2021, he left the club.

Gutierrez joined Deportivo Cali on a free transfer on August 6, 2021. Deportivo Cali won the 2021 Finalizacion tournament on December 22, with Gutierrez playing in both legs of the finals against Deportes Tolima.

International career

Gutiérrez scored in his international debut for Colombia on August 7, 2009, beating El Salvador 2–1. He made his first competitive appearance against Ecuador in a qualifying match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup against Ecuador, scoring the second goal in a 2–0 win.

Gutiérrez scored six goals in 11 games, including a brace against Uruguay on September 7, 2012, and Colombia's first goal in a 3–3 draw against Chile on October 11, 2013. Colombia qualified for the 2014 World Cup thanks to this achievement. He was named in Colombia's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in June 2014, and he wore the number 9 shirt for Los Cafeteros after losing Radamel Falcao due to injury.

Gutiérrez scored Colombia's second goal in the team's first match of the tournament, defeating Greece 3–0.

He was selected in Colombia's preliminary 35 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia in May 2018. However, he did not make the final 23 people.

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