José Manuel Aira

Born in Ponferrada, Castile and León, Aira arrived at Deportivo de La Coruña from local SD Ponferradina aged 19, but never broke into the first-team setup during his spell, only appearing twice in La Liga. With more individual success, he spent the next seven seasons in the Segunda División, with CD Tenerife, Racing de Ferrol (twice), Sporting de Gijón and Polideportivo Ejido. Aira returned to Galicia in the summer of 2006, moving to CD Lugo which had just returned to Segunda División B after a three-year absence. He continued to be a defensive mainstay until returning to Ferrol, now in the Tercera División.

Aira retired in 2011, being immediately named manager of his last club Racing. He was subsequently in charge of Real Murcia CF and Albacete Balompié, leading the latter in their promotion to the second tier in 2017. He was dismissed on 2 October that year, with the team second from bottom. On 13 March 2018, Aira moved abroad for the first time to NK Rudeš of Croatia, who had also had compatriot Iñaki Alonso in charge at the start of the season. His time there was brief, as by 23 May he was in charge of FC Sochaux-Montbéliard of France's Ligue 2. Having won one of nine games with the side in 18th on 25 November, he was sacked. Aira took over at Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa on 18 December 2018 until the end of the third-division campaign, with an extra year in the case of promotion. They eventually missed the playoffs and his contract expired, though a deal on the same terms was agreed the following 20 June. On 3 August 2020, Aira signed a one-year deal to manage Marbella FC also in division three. He was relieved of his duties the following 23 March, having failed in his goal of bringing the team to promotion, instead landing them in the new Segunda División RFEF. Aira was hired by UCAM Murcia CF on 21 March 2022, replacing Salva Ballesta at a side facing relegation from the Primera División RFEF. Having won once in the remaining 11 fixtures, his services were not retained and he moved on to Deportivo Alavés B in June. On 10 November 2024, after 11 games without a win to…

Aira's younger brother Carlos was also a footballer and manager. Having also played for Deportivo B, he spent most of his career at amateur level.

Manager

Racing Ferrol

Tercera División: 2012–13