Nico Estévez

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Estévez and the second or maternal family name is Martínez.
Nico Estévez
Estévez in charge of Valencia in 2013
Personal information
Full name Nicolás Estévez Martínez
Date of birth (1980-01-29) 29 January 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth Valencia, Spain
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Managerial career
Years Team
1999–2004 San José (youth)
2004–2011 Valencia (youth)
2011–2013 Huracán Valencia
2013–2014 Valencia B
2013 Valencia (interim)
2017–2018 Columbus Crew (assistant)
2019–2021 United States (assistant)
2022–2024 FC Dallas
2025– Austin FC

Nicolás "Nico" Estévez Martínez (born 29 January 1980) is a Spanish football manager. He is the incoming coach of Austin FC in MLS.

Career

Born in Valencia, Estévez began his career with the youth categories of local side CF San José, at the age of just 19. In 2004, he was hired by Valencia CF to work in their youth setup.[1]

In July 2011, Estévez was appointed manager of newly-created side Huracán Valencia CF in Segunda División B. On 1 July 2013, after missing out promotion twice in the play-offs, he announced his departure from the club,[2] and returned to Valencia three days later, after being named in charge of the reserves also in the third level.[3]

On 16 December 2013, Estévez was named interim manager of Valencia's first team, after Miroslav Đukić was dismissed.[4] He was in charge of the team for two matches, a 1–0 Copa del Rey home win against Gimnàstic de Tarragona and a 2–3 La Liga home loss against Real Madrid;[5] at the age of 33, he became the second-youngest manager in the history of the club, only behind Óscar Fernández, also an interim.[6] Shortly after, he returned to his previous role with Mestalla after the appointment of Juan Antonio Pizzi.

Estévez was sacked by Mestalla on 7 April 2014, after nine winless matches, and was replaced by Curro Torres.[7] In September, he moved abroad and joined American side Columbus Crew SC, as a Director of Methodology.[8]

On 6 January 2017, Estévez was promoted to assistant coach of Gregg Berhalter in Crew SC's first team.[9] On 16 January 2019, he followed Berhalter to the United States men's soccer team, again as his assistant.[10]

On 2 December 2021, Estévez was announced as the new head coach of Major League Soccer side FC Dallas.[11] In his first season in charge of the side, he qualified them for the playoffs, finishing third on the Western Conference with 53 points, 20 more than last year; it was the biggest year-over-year improvement in the club's history.[12]

On 9 June 2024, Estévez was relieved of his duties as FC Dallas head coach after a 3–8–5 start to the season.[13] On 25 October, he was hired by Dallas' rivals Austin FC as their new head coach.[14]

Managerial statistics

As of 8 June 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record Ref
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Huracán Valencia Spain 1 July 2011 1 July 2013 88 41 34 13 109 62 +47 046.59 [15]
Valencia B Spain 4 July 2013 7 April 2014 32 8 6 18 28 44 −16 025.00 [16]
Valencia (interim) Spain 16 December 2013 26 December 2013 2 1 0 1 3 3 +0 050.00 [17]
FC Dallas United States 2 December 2021 9 June 2024 97 35 32 30 132 120 +12 036.08 [18]
Austin FC United States 1 January 2025 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
Career total 219 85 72 62 272 229 +43 038.81 —

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Perfil de Nico Estévez, nuevo entrenador del Valencia CF" [Profile of Nico Estévez, new manager of Valencia CF] (in Spanish). El Mago del Balón. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Nico Estévez deja Huracán y admite el interés del Mestalla" [Nico Estévez leaves Huracán and admits the interest of Mestalla] (in Spanish). Levante-EMV. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Nico Estévez firma un año con opción a otro en el Mestalla" [Nico Estévez signs for a year with an option to another at Mestalla] (in Spanish). Super Deporte. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Djukic deja de entrenar al Valencia CF" [Djukic leaves Valencia CF] (in Spanish). Super Deporte. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  5. ^ "El meteórico año de Nico Estévez" [The meteoric year of Nico Estévez] (in Spanish). Vavel. 27 December 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Nico Estévez y otros interinos que pasaron a la historia del Valencia CF" [Nico Estévez and other interims who have gone by the history of Valencia CF] (in Spanish). Deporte Valenciano. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Curro Torres sustituye a Nico Estévez en el Valencia Mestalla" [Curro Torres replaces Nico Estévez at Valencia Mestalla] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Un valenciano en Ohio" [A Valencian in Ohio] (in Spanish). Las Provincias. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Crew SC promotes Nico Estevez to First Team Assistant Coach". Columbus Crew SC. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  10. ^ "U.S. Soccer Names Initial Members of U.S. MNT Technical Staff". U.S. Soccer. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  11. ^ "FC Dallas Announces Nico Estévez as Head Coach". FC Dallas. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  12. ^ "How Nico Estévez Brought FC Dallas back to the Postseason". FC Dallas. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  13. ^ Dallas, F. C. "FC Dallas Announces Departure of Head Coach Nico Estévez". FC Dallas. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  14. ^ https://www.givemesport.com/austin-fc-nico-estevez-head-coach/
  15. ^ "Matches Nico Estévez, 2011–12 season". BDFutbol. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
    "Matches Nico Estévez, 2012–13 season". BDFutbol. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Matches Nico Estévez, 2013–14 season". BDFutbol. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  17. ^ "Matches Nico Estévez, 2013–14 season". BDFutbol. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  18. ^ "FC Dallas: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  19. ^ "Los premios Ramón Cobo, un galardón de prestigio y con solera" [The Ramón Cobo awards, an accolade with reputation and pedigree] (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Fútbol. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2021.