Julián Rubio

Born in Montealegre del Castillo, Province of Albacete, Rubio started playing for local club Albacete Balompié. He made his senior debut with Ontinyent CF, spending two of his three seasons in the Segunda División, then switched to Sevilla FC in the same league, promoting to La Liga in 1975. Rubio made his debut in the top flight on 6 September 1975, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 home win against UD Las Palmas, and finished his first year with 26 games (all starts) and three goals as the Andalusians ranked in 11th position. After three more seasons, always as first choice, he signed with FC Barcelona. At the Camp Nou, having to compete with the likes of Juan Manuel Asensi and Jesús Landáburu – and later Bernd Schuster – Rubio was nothing but a fringe player due to a serious knee injury, all of his league appearances coming in the 1979–80 campaign. He returned to Albacete in the summer of 1981, promoting to Segunda División B in his first season and eventually retiring at the age of 32.

Immediately after retiring, Rubio began coaching precisely with his last club, achieving promotiong to the third division in his first season but being immediately relegated. In 1987 he joined amateurs CD Maspalomas, returning to his previous employer after one season. In 1991, after one-year spells with Recreativo de Huelva (second tier, relegation) and SD Ibiza (regional leagues), Rubio returned to Albacete once again, now as director of football. As Benito Floro joined Real Madrid in the summer of 1992 following Albacete's top-flight overachiements, he was named his successor, being dismissed at the 15th round and replaced by former Sevilla teammate Víctor Espárrago. In late April 1999, following spells with three teams, including Sevilla FC in which he was one of three managers in 1996–97 and four the following season, Rubio returned for the fourth time as Albacete coach, replacing Luigi Maifredi late into the third-tier campaign and leading the Castilla–La Mancha side to the 15th position out of 22 teams. In the following seven years he worked in the same league, with Albacete, Elche CF (two spells), Polideportivo Ejido, Ciudad de Murcia and Cádiz CF; additionally, late into 1999–2000 with Albacete, he had to take a forced one-month break from coaching to undergo surgery due to a serious illness. Rubio started the 2009–10 season at the helm of CF Atlético Ciudad in the third division, leaving the club – who would be eventually relegated due to financial irregularities–…