Álvaro Cervera facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Álvaro Cervera Díaz | ||
| Date of birth | 20 September 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Santa Isabel, Guinea | ||
| Height | 1.75 m | ||
| Playing position | Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Tenerife (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Alegría | |||
| Tenerife | |||
| Perines | |||
| Racing Santander | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1983–1985 | Rayo Cantabria | 35 | (15) |
| 1984–1987 | Racing Santander | 33 | (5) |
| 1987–1992 | Mallorca | 139 | (10) |
| 1992–1995 | Valencia | 82 | (5) |
| 1995–1997 | Racing Santander | 42 | (3) |
| 1997–1998 | Hércules | 2 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | Águilas | 11 | (1) |
| 1999 | Almería | 19 | (5) |
| 1999–2000 | San Fernando | 23 | (1) |
| 2000–2001 | Ontinyent | ||
| Total | 386 | (45) | |
| National team | |||
| 1987 | Spain U21 | 4 | (1) |
| 1991–1992 | Spain | 4 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2001–2002 | Catarroja (assistant) | ||
| 2002–2003 | Catarroja | ||
| 2003–2004 | Villarreal (youth) | ||
| 2004–2005 | Catarroja | ||
| 2005 | Castellón | ||
| 2006 | Almansa | ||
| 2006–2007 | Alicante | ||
| 2008–2009 | Cultural Leonesa | ||
| 2009–2010 | Jaén | ||
| 2010–2011 | Real Unión | ||
| 2011–2012 | Recreativo | ||
| 2012 | Racing Santander | ||
| 2012–2015 | Tenerife | ||
| 2016–2022 | Cádiz | ||
| 2022–2023 | Oviedo | ||
| 2024– | Tenerife | ||
|
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Álvaro Cervera Díaz, born on September 20, 1965, is a well-known Spanish football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Segunda División club Tenerife.
Cervera was a talented winger during his playing days. He played 261 matches in La Liga, Spain's top football league, over 12 seasons. His teams included Racing de Santander, Mallorca, and Valencia. He scored 17 goals during this time. He also played four times for the Spanish national team in the 1990s. After retiring as a player, Cervera started a successful career as a coach in 2002.
Contents
Playing Career
Álvaro Cervera's Early Football Journey
Álvaro Cervera was born in Santa Isabel, Spanish Guinea, because his parents were working there. He grew up in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. As a young player, he trained with four different youth clubs. He finished his youth development at Racing de Santander.
Playing in Spain's Top Leagues
Cervera made his debut in La Liga, Spain's highest football division, on September 9, 1984. He played the full match for Racing Santander against Real Valladolid. In his first two seasons, he played only a few games. However, in the 1986–87 season, he played much more often, even though his team was relegated (moved down to a lower division).
In 1987, Álvaro, who was known by his first name during his playing career, joined RCD Mallorca. He stayed there for five years. During his time with Mallorca, the team was relegated from the top league twice. In the 1988–89 season, he scored his personal best of six goals in 35 matches. This helped the team get promoted back to Segunda División, the second division.
In June 1992, Álvaro moved to Valencia CF after Mallorca was relegated again. In his first year, 1992–93, he played 32 games and scored three goals. One notable goal was in a 4–1 win against Athletic Bilbao. After this, he was often a substitute player for Valencia and later for Racing Santander. He then moved to Hércules CF in the second division. Álvaro retired from playing in 2001, at almost 36 years old, after playing in lower leagues.
International Appearances for Spain
Álvaro played four times for the Spanish national team. His first game was on September 4, 1991. He came on as a substitute in a friendly match against Uruguay in Oviedo, which Spain won 2–1.
Coaching Career
Starting as a Coach
Álvaro Cervera began his coaching career in 2001 with an amateur club called Catarroja CF. He worked with them in different roles. From 2004 to 2011, he mostly managed teams in Segunda División B, which is the third tier of Spanish football.
Moving to Professional Football Management
His first job at a professional level came in the 2011–12 season. He was appointed manager of Recreativo de Huelva in the second division. In March 2012, he left Recreativo to join his former club, Racing de Santander, which was in the top league. However, his time there was difficult. In 13 games, his team only managed three draws and no wins. This made him the manager with the worst debut record in the competition's history, and his contract was not extended.
Success with Tenerife and Cádiz
On July 3, 2012, Cervera signed with CD Tenerife, a club where he had played as a youth player many years before. In his first season, he helped Tenerife get promoted to the second division. He renewed his contract until 2015, but was later let go on February 2, 2015, even though his contract was supposed to run until 2018.
On April 18, 2016, Cervera took over as manager of Cádiz CF. He quickly led the team to promotion to the second tier at the end of the 2015–16 season. The next season, 2016–17, Cádiz finished fifth and qualified for the play-offs to get into the top league. They lost to CD Tenerife in the semi-finals. However, under Cervera, Cádiz finally achieved promotion to La Liga in July 2020, ending a 14-year wait to return to the top flight.
A famous quote from Cervera, "La lucha no se negocia" (which means "The fight is non-negotiable" in Spanish), became a popular saying for the Cádiz club after he arrived. On January 11, 2022, when Cádiz was in the relegation zone, Cervera was dismissed from his role.
Recent Coaching Roles
On October 18, 2022, Cervera became the manager of Real Oviedo. He was dismissed on September 21 of the following year. This happened after the start of the 2023–24 season, where the team was near the bottom of the league.
Cervera returned to CD Tenerife on December 23, 2024. This was his third time managing the club in the Segunda División.
See also
In Spanish: Álvaro Cervera para niños
- List of Spain international footballers born outside Spain
