Javier Cabello
Spanish football manager
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Javier Antonio Cabello Rubio (born 20 July 1974) is a Spanish football manager. As of June 2026, Cabello is the manager of Croatian Football League club Istra 1961.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Javier Antonio Cabello Rubio | ||
| Date of birth | 20 July 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Valencia, Spain | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Istra 1961 (manager) | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 2000–2004 | Cieza | ||
| 2010–2011 | Cieza | ||
| 2011–2012 | Castellón | ||
| 2014–2015 | Cultural Leonesa | ||
| 2017–2021 | Alavés (assistant) | ||
| 2017 | Alavés (interim) | ||
| 2017 | Alavés (interim) | ||
| 2021–2024 | FC Dallas (assistant) | ||
| 2025 | Eldense | ||
| 2026– | Istra 1961 | ||
Career
Born in Valencia, Cabello started his career with Villarreal CF in 1999, working in their youth setup as a coordinator. He was subsequently appointed manager of CD Cieza in the following year, and remained in charge for four seasons.[1]
In 2004 Cabello returned to Villarreal, again working in the youth categories; in 2006, he started working as a scout for the first team. In 2008, he was named director of Valencia CF's youth setup.[1]
On 18 July 2010, Cabello returned to managerial duties, being again appointed at the helm of Cieza.[2] In August of the following year, he was named manager of CD Castellón.[3]
Cabello left Castellón in January 2012, following the departure of owner Fernando Miralles.[4] He remained without a club until June 2014, as he was appointed Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa manager.[5]
On 4 July 2015, Cabello was named general manager at Elche CF,[6] but left his post nearly a month later.[7] In June 2017, he was one of the four assistant managers who joined Luis Zubeldía's staff at Deportivo Alavés.[8]
On 17 September 2017, after Zubeldía's dismissal, Cabello was named interim of the Basque side.[9] His first professional match occurred three days later, a 0–1 away loss against Deportivo de La Coruña.
In December 2021, Cabello moved to the United States and joined FC Dallas of Major League Soccer as an assistant to Nico Estévez.[10] On 11 June 2024, the club announced his departure.[11]
On 28 June 2025, Cabello returned to managerial duties after being named in charge of Primera Federación side CD Eldense.[12] On 19 October, however, he was sacked.[13]
As of June 2026, ahead of the 2026–2027 season, Cabello was appointed the manager of Croatian Football League club Istra 1961.[14]
Managerial statistics
- As of 15 August 2026
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Cieza |  |
1 July 2000 | 30 June 2004 | 150 | 59 | 31 | 60 | 232 | 228 | +4 | 39.33 | |
| Cieza | |
18 July 2010 | 30 June 2011 | 38 | 25 | 5 | 8 | 74 | 29 | +45 | 65.79 | |
| Castellón | |
13 August 2011 | 16 January 2012 | 23 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 47.83 | — |
| Cultural Leonesa | |
18 June 2014 | 11 July 2015 | 38 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 52 | 43 | +9 | 39.47 | [15] |
| Alavés (interim) | |
18 September 2017 | 23 September 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0.00 | [16] |
| Alavés (interim) | |
27 November 2017 | 1 December 2017 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 100.00 | [16] |
| Eldense | |
28 June 2025 | 19 October 2025 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 25.00 | [17] |
| Istra 1961 |  |
9 June 2026 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 33.33 | ||
| Total | 263 | 114 | 60 | 89 | 405 | 340 | +65 | 43.35 | — | |||