Óscar Sánchez (footballer, born 1979)
Spanish footballer
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Óscar Sánchez Fuentes (born 19 December 1979) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played usually as a left-back. He is currently manager of Valencia Mestalla.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Óscar Sánchez Fuentes | ||
| Date of birth | 19 December 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Murcia, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Left-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Valencia B (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Atlético Madrid | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–1999 | Amorós | ||
| 1999–2001 | Atlético Madrid B | 71 | (8) |
| 2001 | Jaén | 0 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Badajoz | 34 | (3) |
| 2002–2009 | Valladolid | 140 | (6) |
| 2009–2014 | Murcia | 127 | (9) |
| Total | 372 | (26) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2014–2017 | Murcia (assistant) | ||
| 2017 | Elche (assistant) | ||
| 2018 | Sochaux (assistant) | ||
| 2018–2020 | Cultural Leonesa (assistant) | ||
| 2020–2021 | Marbella (assistant) | ||
| 2021–2023 | Orihuela | ||
| 2024–2026 | Valencia (youth) | ||
| 2026– | Valencia B | ||
| 2026 | Valencia (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
Sánchez was born in Murcia. After stints with Atlético Madrid's C and B teams and Segunda División side Badajoz, he joined Real Valladolid in 2002, where he was regularly used as a defensive backup.[1] He made his La Liga debut on 28 September 2002, playing three minutes in a 1–1 home draw against Real Madrid.[2]
Sánchez helped Valladolid to achieve top-flight promotion in the 2006–07 season,[3] participating in 21 league matches (1,262 minutes) the following campaign. After seven years, he signed for hometown club Real Murcia on a free transfer,[4] appearing in less than half of the games in his first year as his team suffered relegation from the second tier but being first-choice in the next in an immediate promotion.[1]
On 22 October 2011, Sánchez scored a brace in a 3–1 home win over Villarreal B.[5] He netted a career-best seven goals that season, helping Murcia to narrowly escape relegation.[6][7]
Coaching career
After retiring at the age of 34, Sánchez was assistant manager in several teams under José Manuel Aira;[8][9] at Murcia, he was second-in-command to both Aira and Vicente Mir.[10] For a brief period of time, he also worked as that club's director of football.[11]
On 17 November 2021, Sánchez was named head coach of Orihuela in the Tercera División RFEF.[12] He led the side to promotion to Segunda Federación in 2023, but was dismissed on 11 December of that year.[13]
Sánchez was subsequently in charge of Valencia's youth and senior reserve teams.[14] On 13 September 2026, he was appointed caretaker manager of the main squad following the sacking of Carlos Corberán.[15][16] Two days later, on his debut, he oversaw a 1–0 away victory against Alavés.[17]
Managerial statistics
- As of 26 April 2026
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Orihuela |  |
16 November 2021 | 12 December 2023 | 73 | 36 | 14 | 23 | 103 | 78 | +25 | 49.32 | [18] |
| Valencia B | |
24 March 2026 | Present | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 7 | +11 | 80.00 | [19] |
| Total | 78 | 40 | 14 | 24 | 121 | 85 | +36 | 51.28 | — | |||