Juan Merino Ruiz (born 24 August 1970) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a central defender, currently a manager.

Juan Merino
Merino in 2008
Personal information
Full name Juan Merino Ruiz[1]
Date of birth (1970-08-24) 24 August 1970 (age 54)[1]
Place of birth La Línea, Spain[1]
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9+12 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.

Playing career

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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]

Coaching career

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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]

Managerial statistics

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As of 19 May 2019
Managerial record by team and tenure
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 −6 023.53 [23]
Betis B   25 June 2014 11 January 2016 54 18 10 26 57 68 −11 033.33 [24]
Betis (caretaker)   25 November 2014 23 December 2014 6 4 0 2 10 6 +4 066.67 [25]
Betis   11 January 2016 25 May 2016 20 6 7 7 21 28 −7 030.00 [26]
Gimnàstic   28 December 2016 20 May 2017 20 6 9 5 25 23 +2 030.00 [27]
Córdoba   18 October 2017 4 December 2017 7 0 3 4 5 11 −6 000.00 [28]
UCAM Murcia   29 April 2019 11 June 2019 3 2 0 1 4 4 +0 066.67 [29]
Career total 127 40 34 53 137 161 −24 031.50

Honours

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Recreativo

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Juan MERINO Ruiz". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  2. ^ Adorna, Joaquín (12 March 2016). "Del Merino-capitán al Merino-entrenador" [From Merino-captain to Merino-manager]. Estadio Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. ^ "El Recreativo ficha y presenta al ex bético Merino" [Recreativo sign and present former Betis man Merino]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 7 June 2002. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b "El Recreativo se proclama campeón en Segunda" [Recreativo crowned champions in Segunda]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 18 June 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Juan Merino, el 'eterno capitán', cuelga las botas" [Juan Merino, the 'eternal captain', hangs up boots]. ABC (in Spanish). 14 June 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  6. ^ "Merino ya ejerce en la renovada secretaría técnica" [Merino already at work in the renewed technical staff]. ABC (in Spanish). 3 July 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  7. ^ "José María Nogués se hace cargo del primer equipo" [José María Nogués charged with first team] (in Spanish). Real Betis. 6 April 2009. Archived from the original on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  8. ^ "Antonio Tapia firma como nuevo entrenador verdiblanco" [Antonio Tapia signs as new green-and-white manager]. El Correo (in Spanish). 13 June 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Ríos y Merino se estrenan al frente del Recre" [Ríos and Merino make debut at the helm of Recre] (in Spanish). Europa Sur. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Fútbol.– El Xerez ficha a Juan Merino como entrenador para la próxima temporada" [Football.– Xerez sign Juan Merino as manager for the next season] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  11. ^ "El Xerez destituye a su entrenador Juan Merino" [Xerez dismiss their manager Juan Merino]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 4 December 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Juan Merino será el entrenador del Betis B" [Juan Merino will be the manager of Betis B] (in Spanish). Real Betis. 28 June 2014. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  13. ^ "El Betis se carga a Julio Velázquez" [Betis oust Julio Velázquez]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 25 November 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  14. ^ Espina, José A. (21 December 2014). "Merino se despide inmaculado" [Merino leaves untouched]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  15. ^ "Se repite la historia: Juan Merino, otra vez sustituto provisional" [History repeats itself: Juan Merino, again interim]. Sport (in Spanish). 11 January 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  16. ^ Santamaría, Jordi (3 February 2016). "Juan Merino será el entrenador hasta final de temporada" [Juan Merino will be the manager until the end of the season]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  17. ^ "Juan Merino deja el Betis y Paco Herrera fichará por el Valladolid" [Juan Merino leaves Betis and Paco Herrera will sign for Valladolid] (in Spanish). Huelva 24. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  18. ^ "Juan Merino, nou entrenador grana" [Juan Merino, new grana manager] (in Catalan). Gimnàstic Tarragona. 28 December 2016. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  19. ^ "Merino deixa de ser l'entrenador del Nàstic" [Merino is no longer Nàstic manager] (in Catalan). Gimnàstic Tarragona. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  20. ^ "Comunicado oficial: Juan Merino, nuevo entrenador" [Official statement: Juan Merino, new manager] (in Spanish). Córdoba CF. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  21. ^ Fernández, Rafa (4 December 2017). "Merino, destituido como técnico del Córdoba" [Merino, dismissed as manager of Córdoba]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Juan Merino, nuevo entrenador del UCAM Murcia" [Juan Merino, new manager of UCAM Murcia] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  23. ^ "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  24. ^ "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
    "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  25. ^ "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  26. ^ "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  27. ^ "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  28. ^ "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  29. ^ "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
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