Jhon Culma

John Jairo Culma is a Colombian midfielder. The footballer was born on 17 March 1981 in Cali.

In 1997, a young player caught the eye of scouts from Montpellier, where he learned the football during a year, before moving to the senior level.

He didn’t have an early blast, as he signed his first professional contract at age 20. It was Independiente that offered him a contract. The head coach didn’t make it a priority to take the new footballer to the first team, due to the lack of playing experience. That’s why over the course of the 1999/2000 season, the midfielder made only 3 appearances. But he never naturalized himself there.

In 2001, a contract with Cruz Azul was penned. Over the course of two seasons Culma intermittently came on the pitch, both in the starting line-up and as a sub, having made 32 appearances and scoring 3 goals for the club.

From 2004 to 2006, John played for Cruz Azul Hidalgo in Liga de Ascenso. He enjoyed the confidence with the head coach that was seen through the statistics: Culma scored 3 goals in 31 matches as a starter of the squad.

Nevertheless, in 2006 he moved to Israel, where he performed for the local club Bnei Sakhnin. Very quickly he got amicable with the coach. The player’s good stature and fast reflexes helped him establish on the position of a midfielder. John featured in 53 fixtures and amassed one goal.

After a promising period with Sakhnin, he was scouted by the strongest club of Israel – Maccabi Haifa. That club was of a higher level than the previous one. But Culma had to struggle for a place in the first eleven, as everyone desired to shake the plum tree. He managed to make occasional appearances, having been let on the field 82 times and scoring once over the course of three seasons.

In 2011, the midfielder got an offer from the French side Brest after the club had been promoted to Ligue 1. The club was eager to consolidate its position at a new level, so it was seeking for talented players. John was lucky to correspond with the demands. He was seen as a highly-rated footballer, who would soon become able to act as a starting midfielder of the squad. In the summer 2011, the deal was finalized and Culma became an official player of the team. In 2013 his contract was terminated.

He was once called up for the national squad of Colombia in 2005.