The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) mourns the passing of one of Philippine football’s consequential figures, Coach Cesar Augusto “Sugar” M. Gutierrez, 74, whose love for the game never sought the spotlight but whose impact stretches across generations of Filipino footballers.
PFF President John Anthony Gutierrez, Coach Sugar’s nephew, offered this tribute:
“Coach Sugar was my first proof that football could shape a life with grace and purpose — he gave everything to the game not for recognition, but because he believed in the children in front of him. Philippine football has lost a quiet giant, and our family has lost an irreplaceable heart.”
Coach Sugar first made his mark as a commanding full-back for the UP Fighting Maroons in the early 1970s, during the University of the Philippines’ golden age in collegiate football. His excellence on the pitch earned him a call-up to the Philippine Men’s National Football Team, where he represented the nation with distinction through the decade. He also turned out for Blueguards FC, one of the pillars of club football in that era.
But it is in coaching and grassroots development where Coach Sugar wrote his most enduring chapter. A prime mover of the Rizal Football Association (RIFA), he devoted decades to nurturing young players — from midget divisions to under-18 — and to developing coaches across the province of Rizal.
He founded the Holistic Educational Development Center–HEDCen–a visionary educational institution in Rizal that incorporates football in children’ s education, becoming a genuine cradle of the game for young Filipinos, where football was not merely a sport but an important discipline around which young character was built. He also served as head coach of Xavier School and later as assistant to legendary mentor Bob Salvacion at UP in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
PFF Grassroots Head Salvacion, who worked alongside Coach Sugar at UP and RIFA, remembered him simply: “[He was] very kind, respectable. As a coach, he focused on teaching kids and those in the grassroots. He developed a lot of coaches as well, contributing a lot for the development of football.”
The mortal remains of Coach Sugar Gutierrez lie in state at Haven of Angels, Sumulong Highway, Antipolo City from May 26 to May 29.
PFF extends its deepest condolences to the Gutierrez family and to the entire Rizal football community. Coach Sugar’s legacy lives on in every young player who first touched a ball under his watch.
