Manuel Preciado facts for kids
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Preciado Rebolledo | ||
| Date of birth | 28 August 1957 | ||
| Place of birth | El Astillero, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 6 June 2012 (aged 54) | ||
| Place of death | El Perelló, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.75m | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Racing Santander | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1977–1982 | Racing Santander | 115 | (2) |
| 1982–1984 | Linares | 68 | (0) |
| 1984–1985 | Mallorca | 13 | (0) |
| 1985–1986 | Alavés | 37 | (1) |
| 1986–1990 | Ourense | 132 | (1) |
| 1990–1992 | Gimnástica | 64 | (3) |
| Total | 429 | (7) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1995–1996 | Gimnástica | ||
| 1996–1997 | Racing B | ||
| 2000 | Gimnástica | ||
| 2001–2002 | Racing B | ||
| 2002–2003 | Racing Santander | ||
| 2003–2004 | Levante | ||
| 2004 | Murcia | ||
| 2005–2006 | Racing Santander | ||
| 2006–2012 | Sporting Gijón | ||
| 2012 | Villarreal | ||
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Manuel "Manolo" Preciado Rebolledo (born August 28, 1957 – died June 6, 2012) was a Spanish football player and coach. He was known for his strong personality and positive attitude.
Manolo spent most of his 15-year playing career with Racing de Santander. He also played for five other teams, mainly in Spain's lower football leagues. As a coach, he also worked with Racing. However, he is best known for his time managing Sporting de Gijón. He helped them get promoted to La Liga, Spain's top football league, in 2008.
Preciado passed away in June 2012 at the age of 54, due to a heart attack.
Contents
Playing Football
Born in El Astillero, Cantabria, Manolo Preciado played 59 matches in La Liga for his local team, Racing de Santander. He spent five years with the club. His best season in the top league was in 1978–79, where he played 32 games.
After playing for three years in the Segunda División (the second division), he continued his career in lower leagues. He retired from playing in 1992 with Gimnástica de Torrelavega. He was almost 35 years old when he stopped playing.
Coaching Career
Manolo Preciado started coaching in the mid-1990s. His first coaching job was with his last team as a player, Gimnástica de Torrelavega. He led them to win the Tercera División championship.
Later, he returned to Racing de Santander to coach their reserve team, Racing B. He helped them get promoted to Segunda División B twice, in 1997 and 2002.
Coaching Racing Santander
In the 2002–03 season, Preciado became the coach for Racing Santander's main team in La Liga. He helped the team stay in the top division. He resigned after a new owner, Dmitry Piterman, wanted to act as coach himself.
After coaching in the second division with Levante UD (where he achieved promotion) and Real Murcia, he returned to Racing Santander in 2005. The team managed to avoid relegation that season. They even had a famous 2–1 away win against Real Madrid in December 2005.
Time at Sporting Gijón
In 2006, Preciado became the coach of Sporting de Gijón. In his second season, he led the team from Asturias back to La Liga after ten years. This was a huge achievement for the club.
He successfully kept Sporting in La Liga for several seasons, even though they had one of the smallest budgets. In 2009, they avoided relegation on the very last day of the season.
In November 2010, Preciado had a public disagreement with José Mourinho, the manager of Real Madrid. Mourinho accused Preciado of not trying hard enough in a match against FC Barcelona. Preciado responded strongly, calling Mourinho a "bad colleague." However, later, after Sporting beat Real Madrid 1–0 in April 2011, Mourinho congratulated Preciado and his team. This was the first time in nine years Mourinho had lost a league match at home.
On January 31, 2012, after almost six years, Preciado was let go by Sporting. The team was in 19th place in the league at that time.
Personal Life
Manolo Preciado faced many personal challenges during his life. Despite these difficulties, he was known for his strength and positive outlook.
Death and Tributes
On June 6, 2012, Manolo Preciado was appointed as the new coach for Villarreal CF. Villarreal had just been relegated from La Liga, similar to Sporting Gijón. Sadly, later that same day, he was found dead in a hotel from a heart attack.
His sudden death shocked the football world. Many Spanish clubs, coaches, and players shared their sadness and paid tribute to him. Spain's national team manager Vicente del Bosque called him "a caring person and a great sportsman." Player Juan Mata said he always remembered Preciado "smiling, as a happy person."
José Mourinho also wrote an open letter, saying Preciado "had everything I like in people and sportsmen: character, honesty and the courage to fight on."
In Gijón, many people gathered at Estadio El Molinón, Sporting's home stadium, to honor him. The city's mayor announced plans to name a street near the stadium "Alameda de Manuel Preciado."
On June 7, 2013, one year after his death, a bronze statue of Manolo Preciado was unveiled near El Molinón. The money for the statue was raised through donations from the public.
Honours
Manager
Levante
- Segunda División: 2003–04
See also
In Spanish: Manolo Preciado para niños
