Lluís Carreras

Lluís Carreras
	Carreras in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Lluís Carreras Ferrer
Date of birth	24 September 1972 (age 51)
Place of birth	Sant Pol de Mar, Spain
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Left-back
Youth career
1985–1989	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team
1988–1990	Barcelona C
1990–1993	Barcelona B
1993–1996	Barcelona
1993–1994	→ Oviedo (loan)
1994–1995	→ Racing Santander (loan)
1996–2001	Mallorca
2001–2003	Atlético Madrid
2003–2004	Murcia
2004–2007	Alavés
Total
International career
1988–1989	Spain U16
1990	Spain U18
1992–1994	Spain U21
Managerial career
2008–2009	Alavés B (assistant)
2009–2010	Alavés B
2010–2013	Sabadell
2014	Mallorca
2015–2016	Zaragoza
2017	Gimnàstic
2019	Sagan Tosu
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Spain
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lluís Carreras Ferrer (born 24 September 1972) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mostly as a left-back but also as a defensive midfielder, currently a manager.

He started his professional career with Barcelona, without much success, and went on to amass La Liga totals of 169 matches and eight goals in representation of six other clubs. He added 149 games and 25 goals in the Segunda División, over six seasons.

After retiring, Carreras became a coach and guided Sabadell to promotion to Segunda División in his first full season. After three years there, he also managed Mallorca, Zaragoza and Gimnàstic de Tarragona, all of them in the Spanish second tier.

Playing career

Born in Sant Pol de Mar, Barcelona, Catalonia, Carreras was a product of FC Barcelona's famed youth system, La Masia. He made his first-team debut on 4 April 1993 in a 3–0 home win against CD Logroñés,^[1] in what would be his only La Liga match of the season.

After two loans with interesting playing time, at Real Oviedo^[2] and Racing de Santander, Carreras returned to Barça. Although he appeared regularly in 1995–96's league, they came out empty in silverware.

Carreras then lived his most steady period at RCD Mallorca,^[3] although never an undisputed starter. He achieved top-flight promotion in his first season, totalling 128 competitive appearances during his spell in the Balearic Islands.

Subsequently, Carreras had similar experiences with both Atlético Madrid^[4] and Deportivo Alavés.^[5] after featuring regularly in both clubs' promotion from the Segunda División, he saw very little time the following campaigns; in between, he spent 2003–04 with Real Murcia also in the top division.

Carreras' career would end on a sour note: when playing for the Basque side, he clashed with eccentric owner/chairman/manager Dmitry Piterman.^[6] Teammate Roberto Bonano, who stepped up in his defence, was also suspended;^[7] both retired shortly afterwards.

Coaching career

After retiring, Carreras returned to his last club to have his first head coaching experience in 2009, with the reserves in the Tercera División.^[8] In his debut campaign at the helm of CE Sabadell FC,^[9] he led them to promotion to the second tier after 18 years.^[10]^[11]

On 30 May 2013, after avoiding relegation for the second time in a row, Carreras resigned amid rumors he could sign for a top team in the same league.^[12] It finally happened on 26 February of the following year when he was appointed at the helm of RCD Mallorca, replacing the fired José Luis Oltra.^[13]

Carreras was relieved of his duties on 20 May 2014, after winning only ten points out of 36.^[14] On 27 December 2015 he was named Real Zaragoza manager^[15] but, after failing to reach the play-off positions with a 6–2 loss at already relegated UE Llagostera in the last matchday of the season, he resigned.^[16]

On 21 June 2017, Carreras signed a two-year contract with another second-division club, Gimnàstic de Tarragona.^[17] After just four league games (one draw and three losses), he was dismissed.^[18]

Carreras was hired by a foreign club for the first time in December 2018, when Japan's Sagan Tosu named him as manager for the upcoming season; they had recently secured the high-profile transfer of his former Atlético teammate Fernando Torres.^[19] He resigned the following 5 May, with the side last-placed having scored just once in their first ten J1 League matches.^[20]

Managerial statistics

As of 9 January 2020

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team	Nat	From	To	Record								Ref
Team	Nat	From	To	G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Ref
Alavés B		12 February 2009	29 June 2010	48	21	10	17	86	51	+35	043.75	^[21]
Sabadell		29 June 2010	30 May 2013	133	47	39	47	150	166	−16	035.34	^[22]
Mallorca		26 February 2014	20 May 2014	12	2	4	6	8	15	−7	016.67	^[23]
Zaragoza		27 December 2015	6 June 2016	24	10	7	7	31	29	+2	041.67	^[24]
Gimnàstic		22 June 2017	9 September 2017	5	0	2	3	2	9	−7	000.00	^[25]
Sagan Tosu		22 December 2018	30 April 2019	13	2	2	9	4	19	−15	015.38	^[26]
Total				235	82	64	89	281	289	−8	034.89	—