Juan Merino

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

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Merino and the second or maternal family name is Ruiz.
Juan Merino
Personal information
Full name Juan Merino Ruiz
Date of birth (1970-08-24) 24 August 1970
Place of birth La Línea, Spain
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
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)
National team
1991 Spain U21 1 (0)
1991–1992 Spain U23 6 (1)
Teams managed
2010–2011 Recreativo (assistant)
2011 Xerez
2014–2016 Betis B
2014 Betis (caretaker)
2016 Betis
2016–2017 Gimnàstic
2017 Córdoba
2019 UCAM Murcia
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

During his 17-year professional career he played solely in Andalusia, with Betis and Recreativo, appearing in more than 200 matches in both the first and second divisions of Spanish football.

Subsequently, Merino worked as a manager, including jobs at both of his former clubs.

Playing career

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. Out of his twelve years at the club eight were in La Liga, and he appeared in 203 games in that division, scoring two goals and surpassing overall 300 appearances; in the 1996–97 season, he contributed with 36 matches to help to a fourth-place finish.

In 2002–03, staying in Andalusia, Merino joined Recreativo de Huelva. In his first season the side was relegated, regaining top flight status in 2006. After featuring in 23 games in the 2006–07 campaign he retired from football, with more than 500 official matches played – both major levels combined.

Coaching career

Immediately after retiring, Merino rejoined Betis as director of football.[1] He was named assistant coach in 2009, going on to work with two different managers.[2][3]

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 sacked in mid-October after only eight games (four draws and four losses), and the former stayed on as second in command to Carlos Ríos.[4]

On 14 June 2011, Merino was named manager of Xerez CD. He was sacked on 5 December, due to poor results.[5]

On 25 June 2014, after nearly three years without a club, Merino was appointed at the helm of Betis B.[6] On 25 November, after Julio Velázquez's dismissal from the first team, he was named interim manager;[7] he remained in charge for four league matches, achieving as many wins before being replaced by Pepe Mel and returning to his previous duties.[8]

On 11 January 2016, Merino was again appointed caretaker manager at Betis, following Mel's sacking.[9] On 3 February, he was chosen to remain in the position until the end of the season.[10]

On 25 May 2016, after the arrival of new boss Gus Poyet, Merino left Betis.[11] On 28 December, he took over at second tier club Gimnàstic de Tarragona in the place of Vicente Moreno,[12] but was himself sacked the following 20 May as the team was still in the relegation zone.[13]

On 18 October 2017, Merino replaced sacked Luis Carrión at the helm of Córdoba CF, still in the second division.[14] He was sacked on 7 December after winning none and drawing three of his seven fixtures.[15]

Merino returned to management on 29 April 2019, replacing Pedro Munitis at UCAM Murcia CF and tasked with taking the team to the Segunda B play-offs in their final three games.[16]

Managerial statistics
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 [17]
Betis B 25 June 2014 11 January 2016 54 18 10 26 57 68 −11 033.33 [18]
Betis (caretaker) 25 November 2014 23 December 2014 6 4 0 2 10 6 +4 066.67 [19]
Betis 11 January 2016 25 May 2016 20 6 7 7 21 28 −7 030.00 [20]
Gimnàstic 28 December 2016 20 May 2017 20 6 9 5 25 23 +2 030.00 [21]
Córdoba 18 October 2017 4 December 2017 7 0 3 4 5 11 −6 000.00 [22]
UCAM Murcia 29 April 2019 11 June 2019 3 2 0 1 4 4 +0 066.67 [23]
Career total 127 40 34 53 137 161 −24 031.50 —

References
  1. "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.
  2. José María Nogués se hace cargo del primer equipo (José María Nogués charged with first team) Archived 10 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine; Real Betis, 6 April 2009 (in Spanish)
  3. Merino será el segundo de Tapia (Merino will be Tapia's assistant); Al Final de la Palmera, 10 June 2009 (in Spanish)
  4. "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.
  5. "Official: Xerez axe Merino"; Football Press, 5 December 2011
  6. "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.
  7. "El Betis se carga a Julio Velázquez" [Betis oust Julio Velázquez]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 25 November 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  8. "Merino se despide inmaculado" [Merino leaves untouched]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 21 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  9. "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.
  10. "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). 3 February 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  11. "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.
  12. "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.
  13. "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.
  14. "Comunicado oficial: Juan Merino, nuevo entrenador" [Official statement: Juan Merino, new manager] (in Spanish). Córdoba CF. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  15. "Merino, destituido como técnico del Córdoba" [Merino, dismissed as manager of Córdoba]. Marca (in Spanish). 4 December 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  16. "Juan Merino, nuevo entrenador del UCAM Murcia" [Juan Merino, new manager of UCAM Murcia]. La Opinión de Murcia (in Spanish). 29 April 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  17. "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  18. "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
    "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  19. "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  20. "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  21. "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  22. "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  23. "Merino: Juan Merino Ruiz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
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