Alejandro Varela López (born 29 June 1979) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right back, and later worked as a manager.

Career

Varela was born in

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...

in the Valencian Community, and began his career in the youth teams of local side Hércules. He joined Mutxamel CF in the Tercera División in 1992, before returning to the Hércules first team two years later. He was an important part of the team that won the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

title in 1995–96, earning promotion to La Liga. He left the club after their first season in the top flight, which ended in relegation, having made 54 appearances in all competitions, including 21 first division matches, scoring once. He joined

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...

in 1997, where he made 63 appearances in two Segunda División campaigns. He then signed for Mérida, playing nine matches during a turbulent 1999–2000 season, which would prove to be the Extremadurans' last in existence. The club declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

and folded that summer. Following the demise of Mérida, Varela returned for a third spell at Hércules, adding 21

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

appearances and three goals during one season at the club. He joined fellow third tier side Cádiz in 2001, and helped them to promotion via the play-offs in 2002–03. Two years later, he won the second Segunda División title of his career, and Cádiz were promoted to La Liga after a twelve-year absence. Like Varela's previous top flight experience nine years before, Cádiz were relegated after one season, and he left the club that summer with 170 appearances and two goals across five seasons. His next destination was Ciudad de Murcia, and he played 30 matches for the Segunda División side during 2006–07. For the second time in his career, his season with Murcia was the last in the club's existence, as they relocated to

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, becoming

Granada 74 Granada 74 Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Granada 74, was a Spanish football team based in Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It has not registered in any competition since 2009, it held home matches at ''Estadio La V ...

, that summer. This prompted Varela to join Orihuela in Segunda División B, with whom he made five appearances in one season, before retiring in 2008 at the age of 35.

Coaching career

In 2009, Varela returned to Cádiz as coach of their C team, Balón de Cádiz. During the 2009–10 season, he was the coach of youth team Domingo Savio Juvenil. In November 2015, Varela was appointed manager of

Conil CF Conil Club de Fútbol is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Conil de la Frontera, Conil, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1931, it plays in , holding home games at ''Estadio José Antonio Pérez U ...

in the Tercera División. He was dismissed after fourteen games in February 2016, with the club eight points from safety in the relegation zone, and replaced by Chico Segundo.

Personal life

Varela's father Pepe was also a footballer, representing both

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

and Hércules in La Liga during the 1970s.

Honours

Hércules *

: 1995–96 Cádiz *

: 2004–05

Career statistics

:1. Appearances in the

2003 Segunda División B play-offs The 2003 Segunda División B play-offs (Playoffs de Ascenso or Promoción de Ascenso) were the final playoffs for promotion from 2002–03 Segunda División B to the 2003–04 Segunda División. The four first placed teams in each of the four Segund ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Varela, Alejandro 1973 births Living people Footballers from Alicante Spanish men's footballers Men's association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Hércules CF players CD Toledo players CP Mérida footballers Cádiz CF players Ciudad de Murcia footballers Orihuela CF players Spanish football managers Tercera División managers