José Ramón Sandoval

Early career

Madrid-born Sandoval played in the youth sides of Real Madrid for a short period, but had to join CD Humanes as his parents could not take him to trainings. He later represented CD Ciempozuelos, but had to retire at the age of 18 due to a knee injury. After retiring, Sandoval worked as a cook in his family business while studying to become a manager, and later moved to another family business while coaching his former side Humanes. He subsequently led AD Parla to a promotion to Tercera División before returning to Humanes in 2001. In the 2003–04 season, Sandoval was in charge of CA Pinto in the fourth tier, and qualified the club to the play-offs for the first time in their history. He was signed by the Madrid Football Federation shortly after, being named manager of the Madrid amateur team and leading the side in the Spanish stage of the UEFA Regions' Cup in 2005. Sandoval took over Getafe CF B in 2006, and led the side to the play-offs before departing after having discrepancies with the president. He joined Rayo Vallecano B in December 2007, taking the club to runner-up honours in the Copa Federación de España the following year and achieving promotion to Segunda División B for the first time in its history in 2010.

Rayo Vallecano

For the 2010–11 season, Sandoval was appointed manager of the first team in Segunda División. He helped them return to La Liga after an absence of eight years, and was awarded the Miguel Muñoz Trophy as best…