Nelson Daniel Gutiérrez Luongo was born on April 13 1962 in Montevideo (Uruguay).
He began his footballing career with Peñarol. In his four years there he won the league twice (1981 and 1982), the Copa Libertadores of 1982 (Gutiérrez played in the second leg of the final) and the Intercontinental Cup that same year against Aston Villa, which Gutiérrez also played.
In 1985 he signed for Atlético Nacional of Colombia but did not settle, so later that year he moved to Argentina to play for River Plate. He stayed two years, won the Championship in 1985-86, and again in 1986 the double Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup in the final against Steaua București. River also won the Copa Interamericana.
In 1988 he signed for Lazio. The Biancocelesti had just been promoted after three rather dramatic years, and had purchased three South American players to strengthen their team: Gutiérrez and Ruben Sosa from Uruguay plus Gustavo Dezotti from Argentina.
It was not an exceptional season for Lazio, who only managed to avoid relegation in the last game. Of the three South Americans only Ruben Sosa stood out as Dezotti started well but then faded and Gutiérrez proved not to be not Serie A material. He made 25 appearances with one goal.
In 1989 he signed for Verona but they were relegated at the end of the season. In 1991 he moved to Spain and played a couple of years for Logroñés. In 1993 he returned to Peñarol and won the Championship in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996. He retired after one final year with Defensor Sporting Club in 1997.
Gutiérrez had a long successful international career starting with the bronze medal at the Under-20 World Cup in Japan in 1979. He won the Copa América twice in 1983 and 1987 and came second in 1989. He has 57 caps with Uruguay. He was part of the Uruguay squad in the World Cup of 1986 (where he played all three games) and in 1990 where Uruguay were knocked out by Italy in the round of 16 (four appearances).
Despite the great success at Latin American level, in Europe he had problems in adapting. It was a pity because judging by his silverware there must have been some quality there.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1988-89 | 25 (1) | 17 (1) | 8 |
Sources
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