José Manuel Barla

Barla was born in Cádiz, capital of the province of the same name in the autonomous community of Andalusia, and began his career in the youth teams of Cádiz CF. He began playing for the B team, under the coaching of former defender David Vidal, in 1984, and was handed his first team debut in the Copa de la Liga Segunda División the following year. He continued to play predominantly for the reserves until the 1986–87 season, when first team manager Manolo Cardo gave him his La Liga debut in a 2–0 victory over Sporting de Gijón on 23 November. Cádiz found themselves in the relegation playoffs that season, and Barla played a crucial role in their survival. He scored the equaliser in their 1–1 away draw with Racing Santander at Estadio El Sardinero, which ultimately helped Cádiz stay in the top flight at Santander's expense. Barla was not favoured by new coach Víctor Espárrago, who arrived before the following season, nor by Helmut Senekowitsch, who took over in 1988. It wasn't until Vidal, Barla's old coach in the B team, took over as first team coach ahead of the 1988–89 season, that the midfielder was able to reestablish himself in the side. His return was a spectacular one, as he provided assists for both goals in a 2–0 away victory over an Español side coached by Javier Clemente at Sarrià Stadium. The next few years were some of the best in Cádiz's history, as they consistently flirted with, but evaded, relegation under a succession of coaches, including Colin Addison,…

Following his retirement, Barla became a qualified coach, and worked with the Cádiz youth teams. He was assistant coach of the first team during the 2007–08 Segunda División season, in which Cádiz were relegated, working initially under Mariano García Remón, and then former Cádiz teammates Antonio Calderón and Raúl Procopio. After that season, he became the club's sporting director. In April 2015, Ismael Díaz was fired after just four games in charge of Segunda División B side Real Avilés, and Barla was appointed as manager until the end of the season. He ultimately couldn't save them, and they were relegated to the Tercera División via the playoffs. In January 2016, he was appointed assistant manager of another third tier side, Real Jaén, working under Gonzalo Arconada. He remained as assistant when Ramón Tejada replaced Arconada ahead of the 2016–17 season, and when Tejada resigned in March, Barla became manager until the end of the season. Similar to Avilés, Barla was unable to turn the season around, and Jaén were relegated that summer.

As a player

As of 21 March 2021

1.^ Appearance in the 1985 Copa de la Liga Segunda División 2.^ Appearances in the 1986–87 La Liga relegation playoff 3.^ Appearances in the 1990–91 La Liga relegation playoff 4.^ Appearances in the 1995–96 La Liga relegation playoff 2.^ Appearances in the 1998 Segunda División playoffs

As a manager

As of 21 March 2021