Álvaro Cervera

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cervera and the second or maternal family name is Díaz.

Álvaro Cervera Díaz (born 20 September 1965) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a winger.

Álvaro Cervera

Personal information
Full name	Álvaro Cervera Díaz[1]
Date of birth	(1965-09-20) 20 September 1965 (age 59)[1]
Place of birth	Santa Isabel, Guinea
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s)	Winger
Youth career
	Alegría
	Tenerife
	Perines
	Racing Santander
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1983–1985	Rayo Cantabria	35	(11)
1984–1987	Racing Santander	33	(5)
1987–1992	Mallorca	139	(10)
1992–1995	Valencia	82	(5)
1995–1997	Racing Santander	42	(3)
1997–1998	Hércules	2	(0)
1998–1999	Águilas	11	(1)
1999	Almería	19	(5)
1999–2000	San Fernando	25	(3)
2000–2001	Ontinyent
Total		388	(47)
International career
1987	Spain U21	4	(1)
1991–1992	Spain	4	(0)
Managerial career
2001–2002	Catarroja (assistant)
2002–2003	Catarroja
2003–2004	Villarreal (youth)
2004–2005	Catarroja
2005	Castellón
2006	Almansa
2006–2007	Alicante
2008–2009	Cultural Leonesa
2009–2010	Jaén
2010–2011	Real Unión
2011–2012	Recreativo
2012	Racing Santander
2012–2015	Tenerife
2016–2022	Cádiz
2022–2023	Oviedo
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

As a player he made 261 matches in La Liga over 12 seasons, scoring 17 goals, playing for Racing de Santander (in two spells), Mallorca and Valencia in the competition.

Cervera became a manager in 2002, going on to work with a number of clubs.

Playing career

Club

Born in Santa Isabel, Spanish Guinea when both his parents worked in that country,^[2] Cervera was raised in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and played youth football for four clubs, finishing his development at Racing de Santander. He made his La Liga debut on 9 September 1984 by playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 away loss against Real Valladolid,^[3] but only totalled seven games in his first two senior seasons, featuring much more regularly in 1986–87 but suffering relegation.^[4]

In the summer of 1987, Álvaro – known by his first name during his playing days – signed for RCD Mallorca, remaining five years with them and being relegated twice from the top flight. In the 1988–89 campaign he scored a career-best six goals in 35 matches, helping the Balearic Islands team to promote from Segunda División.^[5][4]

Álvaro moved to Valencia CF in June 1992, following Mallorca's relegation. He made 32 appearances and netted three times in his first year (notably once in a 4–1 away victory over Athletic Bilbao),^[6] but was more often than not a reserve from there onwards,^[5] for that and his following club Racing, which he left to play with Hércules CF in the second division.^[7]

Álvaro retired in 2001 at the age of nearly 36, following a spell in the lower leagues.^[4]

International

Álvaro earned four caps for Spain, in slightly more than one year. He made his debut on 4 September 1991, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute for Andoni Goikoetxea in a 2–1 friendly win against Uruguay in Oviedo.^[8]

Coaching career

Cervera took up coaching in 2001, working with amateurs Catarroja CF in several capacities.^[9] From 2004 to 2011 he managed almost exclusively in the Segunda División B, and his first job at the professional level arrived in 2011–12 when he was appointed at Recreativo de Huelva in division two.^[10] However, in March 2012, he arranged to have his contract terminated when he received an offer from former side Racing Santander in the top tier,^[11] but he only collected three draws in his 13 games in charge to become the competition's worst ever debutant,^[12] and was not renewed.^[13]

On 3 July 2012, Cervera signed with Tenerife where he had already played youth football more than 30 years ago.^[14] Shortly before achieving promotion to the second division in his debut season, he renewed his link until 2015,^[15][16] being however relieved of his duties on 2 February 2015^[17] even though he had a contract running until 2018.^[18]

On 18 April 2016, Cervera replaced Claudio Barragán at the helm of Cádiz CF,^[19] and managed to achieve promotion to the second tier at the end of the campaign.^[20] After coming fifth the following season, the team qualified for the play-offs for top-flight promotion, losing on regulations after a 1–1 semi-final draw with CD Tenerife in June 2017;^[21] promotion was finally gained in July 2020, ending a 14-year exile.^[22]

A quote from Cervera, "La lucha no se negocia" ("The fight is non-negotiable" in Spanish), was adopted by Cádiz as a club catchphrase shortly after his arrival.^[23] On 11 January 2022, as the club was in the relegation zone, he was sacked.^[24]

On 18 October 2022, Cervera replaced Bolo at Real Oviedo.^[25] He was dismissed on 21 September of the following year, after the start of the new season saw the side placed second-bottom.^[26][27]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 18 September 2023

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record								Ref
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Catarroja		1 August 2002	1 July 2003	34	20	9	5	64	23	+41	058.82	[28]
Catarroja		30 June 2004	25 April 2005	33	12	12	9	46	34	+12	036.36	[29]
Castellón		25 April 2005	30 June 2005	9	5	2	2	11	7	+4	055.56	[30]
Almansa		9 January 2006	30 June 2006	20	5	8	7	22	22	+0	025.00	[31]
Alicante		1 July 2006	16 April 2007	39	18	7	14	50	39	+11	046.15	[32]
Cultural Leonesa		1 July 2008	30 June 2009	40	20	11	9	46	25	+21	050.00	[33]
Jaén		31 August 2009	30 June 2010	43	22	11	10	62	37	+25	051.16	[34]
Real Unión		13 July 2010	2 January 2011	24	12	4	8	27	27	+0	050.00	[35]
Recreativo		28 June 2011	9 March 2012	28	10	6	12	34	32	+2	035.71	[36]
Racing Santander		9 March 2012	14 May 2012	13	0	3	10	7	28	−21	000.00	[37]
Tenerife		3 July 2012	2 February 2015	110	43	29	38	132	112	+20	039.09	[38]
Cádiz		18 April 2016	11 January 2022	258	98	84	76	288	259	+29	037.98	[39]
Oviedo		18 October 2022	21 September 2023	40	16	10	14	35	35	+0	040.00	[40]
Total				691	281	196	214	824	680	+144	040.67	—

See also

• List of Spain international footballers born outside Spain

References

1. "Álvaro Cervera". Worldfootball. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
2. Corcuera, José Ignacio (1 December 2013). "De espaldas a Guinea" [Turning one's back on Guinea] (in Spanish). Cuadernos de Fútbol. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
3. González, Javier (10 September 1984). "1–0: Valladolid y Racing, más voluntad que acierto" [1–0: Valladolid and Racing, more will than success]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 November 2014.
4. Valimaña, Antonio (24 January 2017). "Cervera, de brillante extremo a codiciado entrenador" [Cervera, from brilliant winger to coveted coach] (in Spanish). La Voz Digital. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
5. Leal, Tolo (15 September 2011). "Jugadores de ayer y de hoy: Álvaro Cervera Díaz" [Players from yesterday and today: Álvaro Cervera Díaz] (in Spanish). RCDM. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
6. Castañeda, Eduardo (21 December 1992). "Varapalo del Valencia al Athletic en San Mamés" [Valencia thrashed Athletic in San Mamés]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 November 2014.
7. "Hércules CF". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 29 August 1997. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
8. Ortiz, Fabián (5 September 1991). "Tiempo de llorar, tiempo de soñar" [A time to cry, a time to dream]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 November 2014.
9. Lizarraga, José Luis (26 April 2005). "El exinternacional Álvaro Cervera puede ser el ´nuevo Oltra´ de Fernando" [Former international Álvaro Cervera may be Fernando's 'new Oltra']. El Periódico Mediterráneo (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 September 2018.
10. "Álvaro Cervera será el entrenador del Recre" [Álvaro Cervera to be Recre manager]. Marca (in Spanish). 28 June 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
11. "Álvaro Cervera, nuevo entrenador del Racing" [Álvaro Cervera, new Racing manager] (in Spanish). Racing Santander. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
12. Torre Poo, Rafa (30 December 2012). "Un año para olvidar" [A year to forget]. El Diario Montañés (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 November 2014.
13. Carbonell, Alfonso (18 April 2016). "¿Qué ha conseguido Álvaro Cervera en los banquillos?" [What has Álvaro Cervera achieved on the benches?] (in Spanish). La Voz Digital. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
14. "Álvaro Cervera nuevo entrenador del CD Tenerife" [Álvaro Cervera new CD Tenerife manager] (in Spanish). CD Tenerife. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
15. "Álvaro Cervera renueva por dos años" [Álvaro Cervera renews for two years]. El Comercio (in Spanish). 5 March 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
16. Bernad Suelves, Marc (2 June 2013). "El Tenerife vuelve a ser equipo de Segunda División A" [Tenerife are again a Segunda División A team]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 November 2014.
17. Castañeda, Jorge (2 February 2015). "Álvaro Cervera, destituido como técnico del Tenerife" [Álvaro Cervera, dismissed as Tenerife manager]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 February 2015.
18. "Álvaro Cervera renueva hasta 2018 y asume más funciones" [Álvaro Cervera renews until 2018 with additional powers]. Marca (in Spanish). 11 June 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
19. "Álvaro Cervera, nuevo entrenador del Cádiz" [Álvaro Cervera, new manager of Cádiz] (in Spanish). Cádiz CF. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
20. Martínez, Daniel (1 July 2016). "Cervera seguirá al frente del 'submarino amarillo'" [Cervera to remain in charge of the 'yellow submarine']. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 September 2018.
21. "Tenerife progress to playoff final after extra-time triumph". La Liga. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
22. Corrigan, Dermot (13 July 2020). "Cadiz, the club and city where the rules are different, finally return to La Liga". The Athletic. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
23. Balagué, Guillem (23 December 2020). "Cadiz: The conquerors of Real Madrid and Barcelona who do things differently". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
24. "Álvaro Cervera deja de ser entrenador del Cádiz" [Álvaro Cervera is no longer manager of Cádiz] (in Spanish). Cádiz CF. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
25. "Álvaro Cervera named the new Real Oviedo head coach". Real Oviedo. 18 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
26. García, Chisco (19 September 2023). "El futuro de Cervera pende de un hilo" [Cervera's future hangs by a thread]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 September 2023.
27. "Comunicado oficial: Álvaro Cervera" [Official announcement: Álvaro Cervera] (in Spanish). Real Oviedo. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
28. "Regional Preferente Valenciana (Grupo 3) 2002–03" [Regional Preferente Valenciana (Group 3) 2002–03] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
29. "Tercera División (Grupo 6) 2004–05" [Tercera División (Group 6) 2004–05] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
30. "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
31. "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
32. "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
33. "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
34. "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
35. "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
36. "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
37. "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
38. "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
    "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
    "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
39. "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
    "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
    "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
    "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
    "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
    "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
    "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
40. "Álvaro: Álvaro Cervera Díaz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 24 October 2022.

External links

• Álvaro Cervera at BDFutbol
• Álvaro Cervera manager profile at BDFutbol
• Álvaro Cervera at Futbolme (in Spanish)
• Racing de Santander biography (in Spanish)
• CiberChe stats and bio (in Spanish)
• Álvaro Cervera at National-Football-Teams.com
• Álvaro Cervera – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Álvaro Cervera at EU-Football.info