 In 1982, he played his last year with Deportes Tolima until he retired at the end of the season.By motivation from Uruguayans Aníbal Ruíz and Luis Cubilla, he started managing Colombian team Once Caldas in 1986.The following year the Colombia Football Federation hired him to manage the national team's youth squad and then was quickly promoted to manage the Senior Squad to compete in the 1987 Copa América where they reached third place by beating the host Argentina.