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Alfonso del Barrio
Personal information
Full name	Luis Alfonso del Barrio Michelena
Date of birth	23 September 1957 (age 67)
Place of birth	Barakaldo, Spain
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team
1977–1978	Bilbao Athletic
1978–1981	Sestao River
1981–1982	Linares
1982–1986	Real Murcia
1986–1989	Elche
1989–1991	Sestao River
Total
Managerial career
1997–1999	Barakaldo
1999–2000	Recreativo Huelva
2000–2001	Barakaldo
2001	Alavés B
2002–2003	Gimnástica Torrelavega
2000–2001	Barakaldo
2004	Palencia
2004	Novelda
2006–2008	Palencia
2009–2010	Sestao River
2010–2011	Barakaldo
2019–2020	Gimnástica Torrelavega
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Luis Alfonso del Barrio Michelena (born 23 September 1957) is a Spanish former football player and manager.

After a playing career as a midfielder, he began managing in 1997, in the first of three spells at Barakaldo. He spent most of his managerial career in Segunda División B, and had a brief spell in the Segunda División with Recreativo de Huelva. From 2013 to 2018 he was director of football at Sestao River Club.

Playing career

Born in Barakaldo in the Basque Country, Del Barrio came through the youth ranks of local Athletic Bilbao, but only made it to the reserve team. He made 67 La Liga appearances and scored 3 goals for Real Murcia and Elche, as well as 184 Segunda División games and 15 goals for Linares, Murcia, Elche and Sestao River. He won the second division title with Murcia in 1982–83 and 1985–86.^[1]

Managerial career

Del Barrio began managing his hometown club Barakaldo CF, twice falling at the promotion playoffs in Segunda División B. He then joined Recreativo de Huelva in the second tier in 1999–2000; he was sacked in January and his run included a five-game losing streak.^[2]

After a return to Barakaldo and a brief spell at Alavés B, Del Barrio was hired at Gimnástica de Torrelavega in 2002–03.^[3] He then joined Palencia in January 2004, beating Real Madrid Castilla in his first home match.^[4] Later in the year he signed for Novelda, leaving by mutual consent in December with the team in the relegation places.^[5]

In 2006, Del Barrio returned to Palencia,^[6] reaching the playoffs (semi-final defeat to Huesca) in his first season. He was sacked in March 2008 after a 3–1 home loss to Logroñés, with the club having the significant expense of paying out the final two years of his contract.^[7]

Del Barrio joined Sestao River as manager in February 2009, with the club three points from the relegation zone.^[8] He helped the team avoid the drop in what remained of the season, but their four-year spell in the third tier ended with relegation in 2009–10, despite a 1–0 win at Lugo on the last day.^[9]

In December 2010, Del Barrio returned for a third spell at Barakaldo.^[10] He was dismissed in March having no wins and six draws from his 13 games, with the team nine points inside the relegation zone.^[11]

Del Barrio went back to Sestao in 2013, just before the end of the season, and one of his first acts was to fire manager José Luis Ribera.^[12] He then hired Ángel Viadero, who won the group in 2013–14 but fell at the play-offs. Financial problems led to players being sold, and the team were relegated to the Tercera División in 2017, with the subsequent failure to be promoted back leading to Del Barrio's dismissal in May 2018.^[13]

After 16 years away, Del Barrio returned to Gimnástica Torrelavega in June 2019. Early in the new year he left by mutual consent, having won 12 and lost 3 of his 19 league games, and reached the final of the Copa Federación before defeat to Tropezón.^[14]

References

^ Lastra, Paco (19 May 2014). "Tres ases en el mejor año del Real Murcia" [Three aces in the greatest year of Real Murcia]. La Verdad (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ "Una racha negativa que las dos últimas veces acabó en descenso" [A negative streak that ended in relegation the last two times]. Diario de Huelva (in Spanish). 21 December 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ Sainz, Javier (13 June 2019). ""Llevo en la sangre entrenar", afirma Alfonso del Barrio" ["Managing is in my blood", affirms Alfonso del Barrio]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ "Impotencia de los blancos y éxito palentino" [Impotence of the whites and Palencia success]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 19 January 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ "Algeciras y Novelda cambian sus banquillos" [Algeciras and Novelda change their benches]. Diario AS (in Spanish). EFE. 23 December 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ "El mercado se mueve poco" [The transfer market is barely moving]. La Opinión de Zamora (in Spanish). 11 July 2006. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ Antón, Belén (12 March 2008). "El Palencia destituye a Alfonso del Barrio como entrenador" [Palencia dismiss Alfonso del Barrio as manager]. El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ "El Sestao destituye a Iñaki Zurimendi" [Sestao dismiss Iñaki Zurimendi]. El Correo (in Spanish). 24 February 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ Mintegi, Alize (10 May 2010). "La victoria más inútil del Sestao" [Sestao's most useless victory]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ Osorio, Silvia (18 December 2010). "Al Barakaldo sólo le sirve ganar" [Only winning matters to Barakaldo]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ Osorio, Silvia (22 March 2011). "El Barakaldo cesa a Del Barrio" [Barakaldo sack Del Barrio]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ Osorio, Silvia (29 May 2013). "El Sestao mira a la grada y prescinde de Ribera" [Sestao look to the stands and get rid of Ribera]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ Osorio, Silvia (30 May 2018). "El Sestao cesa a Alfonso del Barrio como secretario técnico tras la eliminación en el play-off" [Sestao fire Alfonso del Barrio as director of football after play-off elimination]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ "Alfonso del Barrio deja de ser entrenador de la Gimnástica" [Alfonso del Barrio no longer manager of Gimnástica] (in Spanish). Cantabria 24 Horas. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2024.