Juan Merino Ruiz (born 24 August 1970) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a central defender, currently a manager.
He played solely in Andalusia in a 17-year professional career, with Betis and Recreativo, appearing in more than 200 matches in both La Liga and the Segunda División.
Subsequently, Merino worked as a manager, including jobs at his former clubs.
Born in La Línea de la Concepción, Province of Cádiz, Merino joined Real Betis's first team in 1990, becoming their captain in later years.[2] Out of his 12 years at the club eight were in La Liga, and he appeared in 203 games in that division, scoring two goals; in the 1996–97 season, he contributed 36 matches to help to a fourth-place finish.[1]
In 2002–03, staying in Andalusia, Merino signed a two-year contract with Recreativo de Huelva.[3] In his first season the side was relegated, regaining top-flight status in 2006 as champions.[4] After featuring in 23 games in the 2006–07 campaign he retired from football, with 522 professional appearances to his credit.[5]
Immediately after retiring, Merino rejoined Betis as director of football.[6] He was named assistant coach in 2009, going on to work with two different managers.[7][8]
In the 2010–11 season, Merino cut ties with Betis and returned to Recre as assistant to Pablo Alfaro – a former Sevilla FC defender – with the club in the Segunda División. The latter was fired in mid-October after only eight games (four draws and four losses), and the former stayed on as second in command to Carlos Ríos.[9]
Merino was named manager of Xerez CD on 14 June 2011.[10] He was sacked on 4 December, due to poor results.[11]
On 25 June 2014, after nearly three years without a club, Merino was appointed at the helm of Betis B.[12] On 25 November, after Julio Velázquez's dismissal from the first team, he was named interim manager;[13] he remained in charge for four league matches, achieving as many wins before being replaced by Pepe Mel and returning to his previous duties.[14]
On 11 January 2016, Merino was again appointed caretaker manager at Betis, following Mel's sacking.[15] On 3 February, he was chosen to remain in the position until the end of the season.[16]
On 25 May 2016, after the arrival of new boss Gus Poyet, Merino left Betis.[17] On 28 December, he took over at second-tier club Gimnàstic de Tarragona in the place of Vicente Moreno,[18] but was himself relieved of his duties the following 20 May as the team was still in the relegation zone.[19]
On 18 October 2017, Merino replaced the dismissed Luis Carrión at the helm of Córdoba CF, still in the second division.[20] He was fired on 7 December after winning none and drawing three of his seven fixtures.[21]
Merino returned to management on 29 April 2019, taking over from Pedro Munitis at UCAM Murcia CF and tasked with taking the team to play-offs of Segunda División B in their final three games.[22]
Recreativo
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