Ernesto Valverde

Ernesto Valverde

Personal information
Full name	Ernesto Valverde Tejedor
Date of birth	February 9, 1964 (1964-02-09)
Place of birth	Viandar de la Vera, Spain
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Olympiacos (coach)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1983–1985	Alavés	?	(?)
1985–1986	Sestao	31	(6)
1986–1988	Español	72	(16)
1988–1990	Barcelona	22	(8)
1990–1996	Athletic Bilbao	170	(44)
1996–1997	Mallorca	18	(2)
National team
1986	Spain U21	1	(0)
1987	Spain U23	1	(0)
1990	Spain	1	(0)
Teams managed
2001–2002	Athletic Bilbao (assistant)
2002–2003	Bilbao Athletic
2003–2005	Athletic Bilbao
2006–2008	Espanyol
2008–2009	Olympiacos
2009–2010	Villarreal
2010–	Olympiacos
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Valverde and the second or maternal family name is Tejedor.

Ernesto Valverde Tejedor (born 9 February 1964 in Viandar de la Vera, Cáceres, Extremadura), is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a forward, and a current coach.

Having played for six teams in a 14-year professional career, including FC Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, going on to have an extensive spell as a manager, also being in charge of the latter club.

Playing career

After having made his professional debuts in Segunda División (Deportivo Alavés and Sestao Sport Club), Valverde was transferred to RCD Español in 1986, making his La Liga debut on 31 August in a 1–1 draw at Atlético de Madrid. In a season which included a second stage for the top teams, he ended up with 43 league appearances (seven goals). In his final season, Valverde was part of the side that lost the 1988 UEFA Cup on penalties, to Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Subsequently, he played for two seasons at FC Barcelona, winning a Spanish Cup and a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, although he appeared sparingly in the process. However, in his second season, Valverde managed six league goals in only 12 appearances (including braces in consecutive wins over Sporting de Gijón (2–0) and Valencia CF (2–1)).

In 1990, Valverde left for Athletic de Bilbao, eliglible for the side although he was born in Extremadura (he moved to the Basque Country still an infant). He played six seasons with the team (from 1992–94 he scored 20 league goals) before moving to his final club, RCD Mallorca, where he was relatively used as the Balearic Islands outfit achieved promotion, and retired the following summer aged 33; during his time at Athletic, he was nicknamed Txingurri (Euskera for ant).

Valverde played once for Spain, on 10 October 1990, appearing 20 minutes of a 2–1 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifier win against Iceland, in Seville.

Manager career

Immediately after retiring, Valverde began his career as a manager in the youth departments of former team Athletic Bilbao. Four years later, in 2001, he became a co-trainer in the main squad. The following year, he returned to head coach duties when he took over in Bilbao Athletic, the B-team, being promoted to Athletic's first team main coach the following year. In 2003–04, the side finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup.

After one year out of football, Valverde joined another former side, Espanyol. During the first year, the Catalonia outfit managed to reach another UEFA Cup final, nineteen years later, again losing on penalties, to fellow league side Sevilla FC.

On 28 May 2008, Valverde was appointed coach at Greek league powerhouse Olympiacos FC, winning the championship in his debut season, and adding the cup for the double. On 8 May 2009, the club decided not to renew his contract, despite winning the title, because of a financial disagreement; however, most of the players and fans were openly in favour of him staying.

On 2 June 2009 Villarreal CF announced that Valverde would succeed Manuel Pellegrini on a one-year deal, after the Chilean had left for Real Madrid. As the club stood tenth in the league on 31 January 2010, following a 0–2 home loss against CA Osasuna, he was sacked.

On 7 August 2010, Valverde returned to Olympiacos, replacing Ewald Lienen who had only been in charge for a few weeks. In his first season in his second spell, he again led the Piraeus club to the league championship, also reaching the last eight in the domestic cup.

Honours

Player

• Barcelona:
  • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1988–89
  • Spanish Cup: 1989–90

• Español:
  • UEFA Cup: Runner-up 1987–88

Coach

• Espanyol:
  • UEFA Cup: Runner-up 2006–07

• Olympiacos:
  • Greek League: 2008–09, 2010–11
  • Greek Cup: 2008–09

External links

• BDFutbol player profile
• BDFutbol coach profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• Athletic Bilbao profile