Assistant Juan Carlos Osorio began his coaching career during the 1998–1999 season joining the
Staten Island Vipers as their assistant/conditioning coach. He would then join the
MetroStars staff during the 2000 season under
Octavio Zambrano. He would go on to join English club
Manchester City as conditioning coach in June 2001.
Millonarios In 2006, Osorio started his career as a manager when he was hired by
Millonarios in his native Colombia. He led the Bogotá-based club to an 11-6-7 record during the 2007 Finalizacion (closing) season and a fourth-place finish out of 18 teams in the Mustang Cup. In 2007, he was the recipient of the DIMAYOR (División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano) Excellence in Football Coaching award becoming the first coach to win that award in his first year of coaching.
Chicago Fire In July 2007 he was appointed manager of
Major League Soccer side
Chicago Fire. He took over a last-place team and led them to a playoff spot. He also helped Chicago orchestrate a first-round series victory against
D.C. United, which entered the playoffs with the best record in MLS. On 10 December, the Chicago Fire announced that Osorio had resigned due to "family reasons". In his short time with the Fire, Osorio went 6-3-6 in the league, 7-5-7 across all competitions and led the team to the Conference Final for the sixth time in nine seasons.
New York Red Bulls Eight days after resigning from the Chicago Fire, Osorio was hired by the
New York Red Bulls. The decision came after Red Bulls and Fire reached an agreement on compensation for Osorio. The Red Bulls had an up and down season in Osorio's first season in charge of the club. After a promising start, the club qualified for the playoffs on the final day of the season and was seeded as a
wild card into the Western Conference bracket. In the
2008 MLS Cup Playoffs, Osorio lead the club to their first ever
MLS Cup final, defeating defending champion
Houston Dynamo (4–1 on aggregate) and
Real Salt Lake 1–0. In the
MLS Cup final, the Red Bulls lost 3–1 to
Columbus Crew. In his second season with the club, Osorio guided them to one of the worst records in league history, finishing with a 2-16-4 record. In his two seasons at the club Osorio went 12-27-13, the worst mark in the league during that period of time. The club also suffered an embarrassing set-back when they were eliminated by
W Connection in the preliminary round of the
CONCACAF Champions League. Due to mounting pressure, Osorio resigned from his post as coach of the
New York Red Bulls on 21 August 2009.
Once Caldas After leaving New York, on 18 November 2009 Osorio was hired by
Once Caldas. After taking charge of a team that was in danger of relegation Osorio helped Once Caldas to a league title in 2010. In 44 matches in charge, he recorded a record of 23 victories, 8 draws, and 13 losses. In January 2011 it was reported that Osorio would be leaving Once Caldas to take charge of the
Honduras national team. On 2 February 2011, Osorio was officially named as the new coach of the
Honduras national team and to lead them during the qualifying rounds of the
2014 FIFA World Cup. However, Once Caldas announced Osorio contractually could not be released until June to assume his role with Honduras. Due to this, Honduras'
football federation announced they could not wait until June, subsequently ending the negotiations.
Puebla On 15 November, the president of Mexican club
Puebla Roberto Henaine announced via
Twitter that Juan Carlos Osorio would be manager, following
Sergio Bueno departure. He resigned on 22 March 2012 due to poor performances, leaving the club with a 2-2-3 record.
São Paulo On 26 May 2015, Osorio was confirmed as the new manager of
São Paulo FC, signing a two-year contract. He was presented on 1 June and made his debut five days later, in a 2–0 victory against
Grêmio at
Estádio do Morumbi.
Mexico . On 14 October 2015, after heavy media speculation, Osorio was confirmed as head coach of the
Mexico national football team, signing a three-year contract. He was the twelfth coach appointed in nine years, and the first Colombian. Though information of his salary went undisclosed, Spanish newspaper
El País reported that Osorio would receive an annual salary of
USD$1.2 million, 60 percent less than what former manager
Miguel Herrera earned during his time in charge. On 13 November, Osorio won his first game in charge of Mexico, defeating
El Salvador 3–0 at
Estadio Azteca in their opening match of the
2018 World Cup fourth-round qualifiers. Mexico finished at the top of Group A with 16 points, advancing to the
hexagonal round. Osorio led Mexico to the
Copa América Centenario on a 16-match unbeaten streak that began in June 2016. Mexico placed first in
their group with 7 points, defeating
Uruguay,
Jamaica, and drawing with
Venezuela. In the quarterfinal match against
Chile, the team suffered a 7–0 defeat, ending the unbeaten streak at 22 games. After the match, Osorio apologized to Mexico's fans for what he described as an "embarrassment" and "an accident of soccer". Following Mexico's participation at the
2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, where the team finished in fourth place, Osorio was suspended by FIFA for six games after using insulting words and displaying aggressive and confrontational behavior towards officials during the
third place play-off match against
Portugal. On 2 September, following their 1–0 victory over
Panama, Mexico secured their qualification to the
2018 FIFA World Cup. On 6 October, Mexico defeated
Trinidad and Tobago 3–1, taking their points tally to 21, thus assuring Mexico will finish at the top of the qualification table for the first time since 1997. In March 2018, it was reported that Osorio had rejected an offer from the Mexican Football Federation to extend his contract with the Mexico national team. In the 2018 World Cup group stage, he led Mexico to beat the defending champions
Germany 1–0, then
South Korea 2–1, before losing 3–0 against
Sweden; however, they qualified to the round of 16, where they lost 2–0 to
Brazil. Osorio fulfilled his contract and left his post shortly after.
Paraguay On 3 September 2018, the
Paraguayan Football Association appointed Osorio as manager of the
Paraguay national football team to face the
2019 Copa América and the
CONMEBOL qualifiers for the
2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. A mutual termination of the contract occurred on 13 February 2019.
Atlético Nacional On 10 June 2019, Juan Carlos Osorio was confirmed as manager of
Atlético Nacional. Osorio's second spell with the club ended on 1 November 2020 after 20 wins, 18 draws and 12 losses, as he was sacked following a 3–0 defeat to Nacional's rivals
Millonarios.
América de Cali On 16 June 2021, Osorio was announced as the new manager of
América de Cali. On 31 March 2022, he left his post at the club by mutual consent due to poor results and disagreements on sports project with the board of directors.
Zamalek On 13 April 2023, Egyptian club
Zamalek announced the appointment of Osorio as head coach. Later that year, on 5 November, he was sacked from his position after two consecutive losses in the first six matches of the
2023–24 season.
Athletico Paranaense On 3 January 2024, Osorio was announced as head coach of
Athletico Paranaense, returning to Brazil after nearly nine years. Two months later, on 3 March, the club parted ways with Osorio.
Tijuana On 24 May 2024, Mexican club
Tijuana announced Osorio as their new head coach. On 30 July, Osorio received a four-game ban for violent conduct after he confronted a linesman during a
Leagues Cup match. On 11 March 2025, he was dismissed from his position.
Remo On 17 December 2025, Osorio returned to Brazil and its top tier, after being named head coach of
Remo. The following 1 March, he was dismissed after a loss to rivals
Paysandu in the first leg of the
2026 Campeonato Paraense finals. ==Managerial statistics==