José Carlos Granero Granero (born 27 May 1963) is a Spanish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, currently a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. He was known as a promotion specialist, winning promotion four times each to

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and earning two more in China later in his career.

Playing career

Born in

Chella, Valencia Chella ( ca-valencia, Xella) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Canal de Navarrés in the Valencian Community, Spain. Geography Neighboring localities The municipal territory of is close to that of the following municipalities: Ann ...

, Granero spent six years with local giants

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...

, but was mainly associated with the reserves, his best output being 15 appearances in the 1984–85 campaign (seven starts). He made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

debut on 15 January 1984, in a 2–1 away loss against

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club colo ...

. Granero left the ''Che'' in 1986, then spent a couple of years in

with

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, 2 days before Christmas, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play i ...

, playing no matches in the 1987–88 season. He retired in 1994 at the age of 31 after spells with

CD Alcoyano Club Deportivo Alcoyano, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Alcoy, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1928 it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games in ''Estadio El Collao'', with a 4,850-seat ...

and

Benidorm CD Benidorm Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Benidorm, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1964 and dissolved in 2011 it held home matches at ''Estadio Municipal Guillermo Amor'', which had a capacity of 6,000. ...

–

– and amateurs

CD Jávea Club Deportivo Jávea is an association football club based in Jávea, Spain, which competes in the FFCV Lliga À Punt Comunitat - Grupo Sur, the sixth level of Spanish football. Founded in 1939, it has spent the vast majority of its history play ...

, all in his native region.

Coaching career

Granero started training with his last club, going on to work in the lower leagues the following seasons. In 1996, he led

Llíria CF Llíria Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Llíria, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1943 as ''Club de Fútbol Llíria'', the club changed name to ''Llíria CF'' in 1982, and was dissolved in 2020 after they merged with ''A ...

to the first place in the

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segunda División'', and the semi-professional ''Segunda Di ...

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

, subsequently disposing of

FC Cartagena Fútbol Club Cartagena, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Cartagena, in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Founded in 1995 it currently plays in Segunda División, holding home games at ''Estadio Cartagonova'', with a capacity of 15,105 spe ...

FC Santboià Futbol Club Santboià is a Spanish football team based in Sant Boi de Llobregat, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1908 it plays in Tercera División – Group 5, holding home matches at ''Estadi Municipal Joan Baptista Milà ...

and

UD Poblense Unión Deportiva Poblense is a Spanish football team based in Sa Pobla, Majorca, in the autonomous community of Balearic Islands. Founded in 1935, it plays in Tercera División - Group 11. Team colours are shirt with blue and red vertical st ...

in the

promotion playoffs Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or ...

; still in the late 90s, he achieved promotions to the third tier with

Ontinyent CF Ontinyent Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Ontinyent, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1947 it held home games at ''Estadio El Clariano'', with a capacity of 5,000 seats. On 28 March 2019, due to economic pr ...

, Benidorm and

Novelda CF Novelda Club de Fútbol is a football club based in Novelda, in the Valencian Community in Spain. The Spanish football team was founded in 1925. For the 2022-23 season it plays in the Regional Preferente – Group 4 (the sixth level) holding hom ...

. In 2007–08, Granero was in charge of

Alicante CF Alicante Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1918, it played its home matches at ''Estadio Alicante CF'', with a 4,000-seat capacity. History ''Alicante Club de Fútbol'', under t ...

as it returned to division two after a 50-year absence. He was unable to prevent instant relegation the following campaign (he was sacked midway through it, being reinstated shortly after), meeting the exact same fate with

SD Ponferradina Sociedad Deportiva Ponferradina, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Ponferrada, in the El Bierzo region, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 7 June 1922, it plays in Segunda División, holding home matches at the ...

( promotion in 2010 followed by

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

). On 18 October 2011, Granero was appointed at

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the ...

in the third division, after Luis de la Fuente was dismissed. He left the

Mendizorrotza Stadium Mendizorrotza or Mendizorroza is a football stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The stadium is the home ground of Deportivo Alavés. History Opened on 27 April 1924, it is currently the third oldest football stadium in the Spanish Professional ...

the following June, and continued working at that level the next two seasons with

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926 as a result of the merger of two clubs who had maintained a large sporting rivalry for years in the city: ''Real Stadium Club Ovetense'' and ''Real Club De ...

. On 28 May 2014, Granero was signed as head coach of

Veria FC Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of I ...

, as the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

team's

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

was compatriot

Quique Hernández Enrique "Quique" Hernández Martí (born 30 October 1958) is a Spanish football manager. Football career Born in Anna, Valencia, Hernández started managing in his early 20s. For the following twenty years, with the exception of the 1995–9 ...

. He then returned to his country, where he managed two sides in the third tier. Granero headed back abroad on 24 November 2017, signing for the upcoming year to Chengdu Better City F.C. who had been relegated to China's fourth division. He won immediate back-to-back promotions to the nation's

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

Personal life

Granero's younger brother Roberto was a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who played for over a decade in the third tier. He later coached, as José Carlos' assistant and in his own right. His son, Borja, was also a footballer, and all three were youth players at Valencia.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Granero, Jose Carlos 1963 births Living people People from Canal de Navarrés Sportspeople from the Province of Valencia Spanish footballers Footballers from the Valencian Community Association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Valencia CF Mestalla footballers Valencia CF players Recreativo de Huelva players CD Alcoyano footballers Benidorm CF footballers Spanish football managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Tercera División managers Levante UD managers Gimnàstic de Tarragona managers Hércules CF managers Alicante CF managers SD Ponferradina managers Deportivo Alavés managers Real Oviedo managers UD Melilla managers Atlético Levante UD managers Super League Greece managers Veria F.C. managers Chinese Super League managers China League One managers Shenzhen F.C. managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Greece Expatriate football managers in China Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Spanish expatriate sportspeople in China