Roberto Meléndez
# Roberto Meléndez

Roberto Meléndez Lara, nicknamed El Flaco, (born in Barranquilla, 31 March 1912 - died 20 May 2000) was a Colombian football player and coach who played in the 1930s and 1940s, in the amateur era of the sport.

As a player, Melendez played primarily as a forward. He was a player for Barranquilla Juventud Junior who, in large part due to his efforts, became the most powerful amateur club in Colombia during that period. He was the first Colombian player to play for a foreign team in 1939 when was hired by the team 'Hispano Centro Gallego' in Cuba. When playing, he was considered the best Colombian footballer of his era.

Meléndez was also head coach of the Colombia national team and coached them to a fifth-place finish in the Copa América 1945 and in 1947 to an 8th-place finish. He was also head coach of Atletico Junior in the early 1940s, who were runners-up in the first championship league football in 1948. Meléndez died on 20 May 2000.

The Barranquilla main metropolitan stadium Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez was officially renamed after Meléndez, on the initiative of journalist Chelo de Castro on 17 March 1991.

## Honours

### International

* Central American and Caribbean Games Bronze Medal (1): 1938
