Juan Merino Ruiz (born 24 August 1970) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a central defender, currently a manager.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Juan Merino Ruiz[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 24 August 1970||
Place of birth | La Línea, Spain[1] | ||
Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
Youth career | |||
Betis | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1989–1990 | Betis B | 11 | (0) |
1990–2002 | Betis | 315 | (3) |
2002–2007 | Recreativo | 137 | (1) |
Total | 463 | (4) | |
International career | |||
1991 | Spain U21 | 1 | (0) |
1991–1992 | Spain U23 | 6 | (1) |
Managerial career | |||
2010–2011 | Recreativo (assistant) | ||
2011 | Xerez | ||
2014–2016 | Betis B | ||
2014 | Betis (caretaker) | ||
2016 | Betis | ||
2016–2017 | Gimnàstic | ||
2017 | Córdoba | ||
2019 | UCAM Murcia | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
He played solely in Andalusia in a 17-year professional career, with Betis and Recreativo, appearing in more than 200 matches in both La Liga and the Segunda División.
Subsequently, Merino worked as a manager, including jobs at his former clubs.
Born in La Línea de la Concepción, Province of Cádiz, Merino joined Real Betis's first team in 1990, becoming their captain in later years.[2] Out of his 12 years at the club eight were in La Liga, and he appeared in 203 games in that division, scoring two goals; in the 1996–97 season, he contributed 36 matches to help to a fourth-place finish.[1]
In 2002–03, staying in Andalusia, Merino signed a two-year contract with Recreativo de Huelva.[3] In his first season the side was relegated, regaining top-flight status in 2006 as champions.[4] After featuring in 23 games in the 2006–07 campaign he retired from football, with 522 professional appearances to his credit.[5]
Immediately after retiring, Merino rejoined Betis as director of football.[6] He was named assistant coach in 2009, going on to work with two different managers.[7][8]
In the 2010–11 season, Merino cut ties with Betis and returned to Recre as assistant to Pablo Alfaro – a former Sevilla FC defender – with the club in the Segunda División. The latter was fired in mid-October after only eight games (four draws and four losses), and the former stayed on as second in command to Carlos Ríos.[9]
Merino was named manager of Xerez CD on 14 June 2011.[10] He was sacked on 4 December, due to poor results.[11]
On 25 June 2014, after nearly three years without a club, Merino was appointed at the helm of Betis B.[12] On 25 November, after Julio Velázquez's dismissal from the first team, he was named interim manager;[13] he remained in charge for four league matches, achieving as many wins before being replaced by Pepe Mel and returning to his previous duties.[14]
On 11 January 2016, Merino was again appointed caretaker manager at Betis, following Mel's sacking.[15] On 3 February, he was chosen to remain in the position until the end of the season.[16]
On 25 May 2016, after the arrival of new boss Gus Poyet, Merino left Betis.[17] On 28 December, he took over at second-tier club Gimnàstic de Tarragona in the place of Vicente Moreno,[18] but was himself relieved of his duties the following 20 May as the team was still in the relegation zone.[19]
On 18 October 2017, Merino replaced the dismissed Luis Carrión at the helm of Córdoba CF, still in the second division.[20] He was fired on 7 December after winning none and drawing three of his seven fixtures.[21]
Merino returned to management on 29 April 2019, taking over from Pedro Munitis at UCAM Murcia CF and tasked with taking the team to play-offs of Segunda División B in their final three games.[22]
Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
Xerez | 14 June 2011 | 5 December 2011 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 21 | −6 | 23.53 | [23] | |
Betis B | 25 June 2014 | 11 January 2016 | 54 | 18 | 10 | 26 | 57 | 68 | −11 | 33.33 | [24] | |
Betis (caretaker) | 25 November 2014 | 23 December 2014 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 66.67 | [25] | |
Betis | 11 January 2016 | 25 May 2016 | 20 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 28 | −7 | 30.00 | [26] | |
Gimnàstic | 28 December 2016 | 20 May 2017 | 20 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 25 | 23 | +2 | 30.00 | [27] | |
Córdoba | 18 October 2017 | 4 December 2017 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 0.00 | [28] | |
UCAM Murcia | 29 April 2019 | 11 June 2019 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | +0 | 66.67 | [29] | |
Career total | 127 | 40 | 34 | 53 | 137 | 161 | −24 | 31.50 | — |
Recreativo