Ángel Gómez Ruiz (born 15 September 1976) is a Spanish director of football. He has worked in other football roles such as a scout, and manager of C.D. River Ecuador in 2017.
Early life and playing career
editGómez was born in Seville in Andalusia to a local mother and a father from Galicia. At the age of three months, he moved to Frankfurt in West Germany. He played in the youth ranks of Eintracht Frankfurt before returning to Spain at age 12. He settled in Catalonia and played on the left wing for several lower-league clubs in the region including UE Cornellà, FC Santboià, AEC Manlleu and CF Balaguer.[1]
Coaching and directorial career
editA psychology graduate and UEFA Pro Licence holder, Gómez began coaching the youth team at CE Europa in Barcelona, and at 26 he was the coordinator of the entire youth set-up. By the time of his exit in 2009, all of Europa's youth teams were playing at the highest regional level.[1]
Gómez then moved to Ecuador, where he became the director of Barcelona S.C. in Guayaquil. During his time in charge, the team managed by compatriot Benito Floro went from avoiding relegation on the final matchday to qualifying for the Copa Sudamericana, having been in the higher Copa Libertadores places for most of the season. In 2011 he moved to Independiente del Valle where he was also manager of the under-18 team and won the national title.[1]
Due to his wife's pregnancy, Gómez returned to Spain and became a scout on the South American market for RCD Espanyol. In 2012, Óscar Perarnau promoted him to technical secretary, and he succeeded him as director of football in 2016.[1] He was dismissed on 28 November, having signed 11 players including David López, and was succeeded by academy coordinator Jordi Lardín.[2] Gómez later said that he had wanted Paco Jémez as manager, and eventual appointee Quique Sánchez Flores demanded players that Gómez did not want to sign, such as Álvaro Vázquez and José Manuel Jurado.[3]
In December 2016, Gómez agreed to return to Ecuador in the new year as manager of C.D. River Ecuador in the Ecuadorian Serie A.[4] He was sacked on 28 March with the team last in the table, with four draws and as many losses.[5]
Gómez returned to European football in June 2018, being appointed director at AC Omonia in the Cypriot First Division. He appointed Juan Carlos Oliva, a strategist at Espanyol, to be the manager.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Martínez, Ángel (31 March 2016). "Ángel Gómez, delfín de Perarnau y un trotamundos del fútbol" [Ángel Gómez, Perarnau's heir and a football globetrotter]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ Molero, Iván (28 November 2016). "Lardín sustituye a Ángel Gómez en la dirección deportiva" [Lardín replaces Ángel Gómez as sporting director]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ Martínez, Alberto (14 January 2022). "Ángel Gómez: "Perdí un cargo, pero recuperé parte de mi vida"" [Ángel Gómez: "I lost a job, but I recovered part of my life"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "El sevillano Ángel Gómez entrenará al River Ecuador" [Seville-born Ángel Gómez will manage River Ecuador]. Marca (in Spanish). 20 December 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "El DT Ángel Gómez fue separado de River Ecuador por malos resultados" [Manager Ángel Gómez was separated from River Ecuador due to bad results]. El Comercio (Ecuador) (in Spanish). 28 March 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ Molero, Iván (26 June 2018). "Ángel Gómez y Oliva se reencuentran en Chipre" [Ángel Gómez and Oliva meet each other again in Cyprus]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 October 2024.