Víctor Fernández facts for kids
Fernández in 2014
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Víctor Fernández Braulio | ||
| Date of birth | 28 November 1960 | ||
| Place of birth | Zaragoza, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Stadium Casablanca | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| Sariñena | |||
| Teams managed | |||
| 1982–1988 | Stadium Casablanca (youth) | ||
| – | Zaragoza (assistant) | ||
| 1990–1991 | Zaragoza B | ||
| 1991–1996 | Zaragoza | ||
| 1997 | Tenerife | ||
| 1998–2002 | Celta | ||
| 2002–2004 | Betis | ||
| 2004–2005 | Porto | ||
| 2006–2008 | Zaragoza | ||
| 2010 | Betis | ||
| 2013 | Gent | ||
| 2014–2015 | Deportivo La Coruña | ||
| 2018–2020 | Zaragoza | ||
| 2024 | Zaragoza | ||
|
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Víctor Fernández Braulio (born November 28, 1960) is a Spanish football manager. He is well-known for his long career coaching different teams.
Víctor Fernández has coached his hometown team, Real Zaragoza, four times. With them, he won the Copa del Rey in 1994 and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1995. He also managed other important Spanish teams like Tenerife, Celta, Real Betis, and Deportivo de La Coruña in La Liga, which is Spain's top football league. He even won the Intercontinental Cup in 2004 during a short time at Porto in Portugal.
Contents
Víctor Fernández: A Football Coach's Journey
Coaching at Zaragoza
Víctor Fernández was born in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. When he was only 30 years old, he became the main coach for his hometown team, Real Zaragoza, during the 1990–91 season. He helped the team stay in La Liga by winning important playoff games. At that time, he was one of the youngest coaches ever in the league!
In the years that followed, Fernández made Zaragoza a strong team in the top division. He helped them win the Copa del Rey (Spain's main cup competition) in 1994. The very next season, they achieved an even bigger victory: the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. This was a major European trophy! He left Zaragoza in November 1996.
Time with Celta Vigo
In May 1998, Víctor Fernández became the coach of RC Celta de Vigo. His team was known for playing exciting football. They were even called EuroCelta because of how well they played in European competitions.
Fernández led Celta Vigo to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup three times in four seasons. They had some amazing wins, like beating Liverpool 3–1 in 1998 and Juventus FC 4–0 in 2000. In 2000, his team also won the UEFA Intertoto Cup. However, they surprisingly lost the 2001 Copa del Rey final to Zaragoza, his old team.
Coaching Real Betis
In May 2002, Fernández moved to coach another top Spanish team, Real Betis. He led them to finish eighth and ninth in the league during his two years there. They also played in the 2002–03 UEFA Cup, reaching the third round.
Adventure in Portugal with Porto
In August 2004, Víctor Fernández went to Portugal to coach FC Porto. This team had just won the UEFA Champions League. He had a great start, winning his first game and then the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (Portuguese Super Cup) in August 2004.
On December 12, 2004, he led Porto to win the very last Intercontinental Cup. They won it in a penalty shootout against a team from Colombia. However, his time at Porto ended in January 2005 after some difficult games in the league.
Returning to Familiar Teams
Víctor Fernández returned to his beloved Real Zaragoza for the 2006–07 season. He helped them qualify for the UEFA Cup again. But he was let go during his second season, and the team ended up being relegated.
He also returned to Real Betis in January 2010. Even though his team earned a lot of points, they just missed out on getting promoted back to the top division.
Later Coaching Years
In January 2013, Fernández coached a team in Belgium called K.A.A. Gent. He stayed there for about nine months before leaving.
On July 10, 2014, he became the manager of Deportivo de La Coruña. He left the team in April 2015, and they managed to avoid relegation that season.
After that, in 2015, Víctor Fernández worked for Real Madrid as a coordinator for their youth teams. He returned to coach Real Zaragoza for a third time in December 2018. He resigned in August 2020 after they lost in the play-offs.
In March 2024, after almost four years, he came back to Zaragoza for his fourth time as coach. However, he resigned again in December 2024 after a series of games without a win.
Managerial Statistics
This table shows Víctor Fernández's coaching record for different teams.
| Team | Country | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Zaragoza B |  |
July 1, 1990 | March 4, 1991 | 26 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 41 | 28 | +13 | 46.15 | |
| Zaragoza | |
March 4, 1991 | November 8, 1996 | 279 | 112 | 72 | 95 | 391 | 345 | +46 | 40.14 | |
| Tenerife | |
July 1, 1997 | November 10, 1997 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 24 | −9 | 25.00 | |
| Celta | |
May 30, 1998 | May 18, 2002 | 207 | 93 | 54 | 60 | 330 | 236 | +94 | 44.93 | |
| Betis | |
May 18, 2002 | June 30, 2004 | 90 | 36 | 27 | 27 | 129 | 109 | +20 | 40.00 | |
| Porto |  |
August 11, 2004 | January 31, 2005 | 29 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 31 | 23 | +8 | 41.38 | |
| Zaragoza | |
June 6, 2006 | January 14, 2008 | 68 | 26 | 21 | 21 | 98 | 84 | +14 | 38.24 | |
| Betis | |
January 26, 2010 | July 12, 2010 | 21 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 32 | 15 | +17 | 52.38 | |
| Gent |  |
January 9, 2013 | September 30, 2013 | 29 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 48.28 | |
| Deportivo La Coruña | |
July 10, 2014 | April 9, 2015 | 32 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 27 | 52 | −25 | 18.75 | |
| Zaragoza | |
December 17, 2018 | August 18, 2020 | 72 | 31 | 17 | 24 | 97 | 87 | +10 | 43.06 | |
| Zaragoza | |
March 11, 2024 | December 18, 2024 | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 51 | 43 | +8 | 32.35 | |
| Total | 899 | 367 | 247 | 285 | 1,283 | 1,078 | +205 | 40.82 | — | |||
Honours and Trophies
Víctor Fernández has won several important trophies as a manager:
With Zaragoza
- Copa del Rey: 1993–94 (a major Spanish cup)
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1994–95 (a big European trophy)
With Celta Vigo
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2000 (a European competition)
With Porto
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2004 (Portuguese Super Cup)
- Intercontinental Cup: 2004 (a global club championship)
See also
In Spanish: Víctor Fernández para niños
