Luis Milla (footballer, born 1966)

Milla was born in Teruel, Aragon.^[3] After finishing his development with Barcelona, he made his La Liga debut in 1984–85, scoring in his only appearance of the season against Real Zaragoza as Barça pitched in a team majorly composed of youth players due to a general professional's strike.^[4]

Definitely promoted to the first team in 1988, Milla would be involved two years later in a sour contract renewal dispute with the board of directors and manager Johan Cruyff,^[5][6] which eventually finished with his free transfer to Real Madrid. He was seriously injured in his debut campaign, but bounced to back to be an important first-team element in the claiming of two leagues and one Copa del Rey, being fairly utilised even after the 1994 purchase of Fernando Redondo.^[7][8]

Milla finished his career in June 2001 after four years at Valencia, with more than 400 official appearances as a professional.^[9] Over a three-month period beginning in late 1989, he earned himself three caps for the Spain national team,^[10] the first against Hungary in a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifier.^[11]

Milla was first involved in professional coaching in 2007–08, assisting former Barcelona and Madrid teammate Michael Laudrup at Getafe.^[12] In the ensuing summer, he was named the national under-17's manager after Vicente del Bosque's appointment at the senior side.^[13]

At the 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Milla's team did not progress through the group stage. In the 2010 edition in France, however, he led Spain to the final, which ended in defeat to the hosts.^[14]

Later that year, Milla replaced Juan Ramón López Caro at the helm of the under-21 side. Despite finding a delicate situation upon his arrival, he managed to qualify for the 2011 European championship after defeating Croatia in a two-legged play-off.^[15]

In the final stages in Denmark, Milla led the Spanish under-21s to their third title, after only conceding two goals in five games (four wins and one draw).^[16] He was sacked after his team failed to qualify from the group phase at the 2012 Summer Olympics.^[17]

In February 2013, Milla was appointed at UAE Pro League's Al Jazira.^[18] His first match in charge was a 3–1 loss at Tractor in the group stage of the AFC Champions League.^[19]

Milla returned to Spain in the 2015 off-season, signing as Segunda División club Lugo head coach and resigning in late February 2016 in unclear circumstances.^[20] The following season, in the same capacity, he joined Zaragoza also at that level,^[21] being dismissed after only four months in charge and six matches without a win.^[22]

On 21 January 2017, Milla succeeded Alfred Riedl at the helm of the Indonesia national team by signing a two-year deal.^[23] In October 2018, he had his contract terminated by the Football Association of Indonesia.^[24]

On 19 August 2022, Milla was announced as the new manager of Persib Bandung.^[25] On 15 July 2023, he left for personal reasons.^[26]

Milla's son, also named Luis, is also a footballer and a midfielder.^[27] On 28 November 2017, the latter scored in a 2–2 draw at Real Madrid in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey, achieving this feat at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium 24 years after his father.^[28]

As of match played 14 July 2023^[29]

Player

Barcelona

• La Liga: 1984–85^[2]
• Copa del Rey: 1989–90^[2]
• European Cup Winners' Cup: 1988–89^[30]

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 1994–95, 1996–97^[2]
• Copa del Rey: 1992–93^[2]
• Supercopa de España: 1993^[2]

Valencia

• Copa del Rey: 1998–99^[2]
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998^[31]
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 1999–2000, 2000–01^[8]

Manager

Spain U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2011^[16]

Spain U19

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship runner-up: 2010^[14]