Ernesto Valverde

Valverde was born in the village of Viandar de la Vera, Province of Cáceres, Extremadura. After making his professional debut in the Segunda División – with Alavés and Sestao– he was transferred to Español in 1986, making his La Liga debut on 31 August in a 1–1 away draw against Atlético Madrid. In a season that included a second stage, he ended with 43 league appearances, scoring seven goals; in his final year, he was part of the squad that lost the 1988 UEFA Cup on penalties to Bayer Leverkusen. Subsequently, Valverde played two years at Barcelona, winning a Copa del Rey and a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, although he appeared sparingly in the process (only 13 minutes against Lech Poznań in the latter tournament). However, in his second season he netted six times in only 12 games, including braces in consecutive wins over Sporting de Gijón (2–0) and Valencia (2–1). Valverde left for Athletic Bilbao in 1990, being eligible although he was born in Extremadura (he moved to the Basque Country while still an infant). He spent six seasons with the team, scoring 20 league goals from 1992 to 1994 before moving to Mallorca, where he was relatively used as the Balearic Islands club achieved top-flight promotion, and retired the following summer aged 33; during his time at Athletic, he was nicknamed Txingurri (Basque for ant). Valverde played once for Spain, appearing 20 minutes in a 2–1 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifier win against Iceland on 10 October 1990, in Seville.

Spain and Greece

Immediately after retiring, Valverde began his career as a manager in the youth departments of former club Athletic Bilbao, and four years later he became a co-trainer in the main squad. Heavily involved in the establishment of the women's team, in 2002 he again acted as head coach when he took over the B side, being promoted to first-team duties the following year; in 2003–04, they finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup. After one year out of football, Valverde joined another former employers, now renamed Espanyol. During his first season, the Catalans managed to reach another UEFA Cup final – 19 years after their last – again losing on penalties, to fellow Spaniards Sevilla. On 28 May 2008, Valverde was appointed coach at Olympiacos, winning the Super League Greece in his debut campaign and adding the cup for the double. On 8 May 2009, the club decided not to renew his contract in spite of his success, because of a financial disagreement; however, most of the players and fans were openly in favour of him staying. On 2 June 2009, Villarreal announced that Valverde would succeed Manuel Pellegrini on a one-year deal, after the Chilean had left for Real Madrid. As the team stood tenth in the league on 31 January 2010, he was dismissed following a 2–0 home loss against Osasuna. Valverde returned to Olympiacos on 7 August 2010, as a replacement for Ewald Lienen who had only been in charge for a few weeks. In the first season in his second spell…

Valverde is a keen photographer, whose work has been published and exhibited. His younger brother, Mikel, is a cartoonist.

Player

Espanyol

UEFA Cup runner-up: 1987–88 Barcelona

Copa del Rey: 1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup: 1988–89

Manager

Espanyol

UEFA Cup runner-up: 2006–07 Olympiacos

Super League Greece: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12 Greek Football Cup: 2008–09, 2011–12 Athletic Bilbao

Copa del Rey: 2023–24; runner-up: 2014–15 Supercopa de España: 2015 Barcelona

La Liga: 2017–18, 2018–19 Copa del Rey: 2017–18 Supercopa de España: 2018 Individual

Super League Greece Manager of the Season: 2010–11, 2011–12 UEFA La Liga Coach of the Year: 2015–16 La Liga Manager of the Month: January 2014, November 2014, March 2015, October 2015, September 2016, December 2023, February 2024, September 2024