José Alberto (footballer)
Spanish football manager (born 1982)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
José Alberto López Menéndez (born 21 May 1982), known as José Alberto, is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a defender, he is the currently manager of La Liga club Racing Santander.
|
José Alberto in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Alberto López Menéndez | ||
| Date of birth | 21 May 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Oviedo, Spain | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Racing Santander (manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2002 | San Lázaro | 14 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2001–2006 | Oviedo ACF (youth) | ||
| 2006–2007 | Vallobín (youth) | ||
| 2007–2008 | Astur (youth) | ||
| 2009–2013 | Sporting Gijón (youth) | ||
| 2013–2014 | Covadonga | ||
| 2014–2016 | Sporting Gijón (youth) | ||
| 2016–2018 | Sporting Gijón B | ||
| 2018–2019 | Sporting Gijón | ||
| 2020–2021 | Mirandés | ||
| 2021–2022 | Málaga | ||
| 2022– | Racing Santander | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
Born in Oviedo, Asturias, José Alberto started his career at Astor's youth setup in 2001 (later renamed Oviedo ACF); at that time, he was playing as a senior for Tercera División side San Lázaro, but retired shortly after. In 2006, he took over Vallobín's under-19 squad, but returned to Astur in the following year.[1]
In 2008, José Alberto moved to Sporting de Gijón, being named assistant manager of the under-14s. He was appointed manager of the under-13 team in the following year, and subsequently took over the under-14s.[1]
On 12 October 2013, José Alberto was named manager of Tercera División side Covadonga,[2] and led the side to fifth position during the campaign, one point shy of the play-offs. He resigned the following 19 May,[3] and returned to Sporting on 2 June.[4]
On 9 June 2016, José Alberto was appointed manager of the reserves, freshly relegated to the fourth division.[5] He achieved promotion to the Segunda División B in his first season, and reached the play-offs to the Segunda División in his second.[6]
On 18 November 2018, José Alberto replaced Rubén Baraja at the helm of the first team.[7] His first match in charge occurred five days later, a 2–1 away win against Granada.[8] He was sacked on 21 December 2019, after two losses against fourth-tier Zamora in the Copa del Rey, and Extremadura.[9]
On 27 July 2020, José Alberto was appointed in charge of Mirandés, still in the second division.[10] The following 1 June, he was named in charge of fellow league team Málaga.[11]
On 24 January 2022, after a 5–0 home loss to Ibiza, José Alberto was dismissed by the Andalusians.[12] On 13 December, he replaced sacked Guillermo Fernández Romo at the helm of Racing Santander, also in division two.[13]
Personal life
José Alberto's younger brother Dani was a footballer. A left back, he was a Real Oviedo youth graduate.[14]
Managerial statistics
- As of match played 23 August 2026
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Covadonga |  |
12 October 2013 | 19 May 2014 | 30 | 19 | 9 | 2 | 62 | 22 | +40 | 63.33 | [15] |
| Sporting Gijón B | |
9 June 2016 | 18 November 2018 | 125 | 77 | 29 | 19 | 256 | 99 | +157 | 61.60 | [16] |
| Sporting Gijón | |
18 November 2018 | 21 December 2019 | 53 | 20 | 15 | 18 | 55 | 54 | +1 | 37.74 | [17] |
| Mirandés | |
27 July 2020 | 1 June 2021 | 43 | 14 | 12 | 17 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 32.56 | [18] |
| Málaga | |
1 June 2021 | 24 January 2022 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 26 | 36 | −10 | 34.62 | [19] |
| Racing Santander | |
13 December 2022 | Present | 161 | 78 | 37 | 46 | 270 | 213 | +57 | 48.45 | [20] |
| Total | 438 | 217 | 109 | 112 | 707 | 466 | +241 | 49.54 | — | |||
Honours
Manager
Racing de Santander
- Sporting de Gijón B