Manuel "Manolo" Ruiz Pérez (born 3 December 1962) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and a current manager.

Playing career

Ruiz was born in Jerez de la Frontera,

Province of Cádiz Cádiz is a Provinces of Spain, province of southern Spain, in the southwestern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is the southernmost part of mainland Spain, as well as the southernmost part of conti ...

, Andalusia. After playing youth football for UD Melilla and Atlético Sanluqueño CF, he signed for Xerez CD in 1979. Four years later, he moved to La Liga with Real Zaragoza, making his debut on 4 December 1983 in a 0–0 away draw against FC Barcelona. During his four-year spell with the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

ese, however, Ruiz only played in a combined nine league matches, barred by Andoni Cedrún which would later become a legendary player for the club. In 1985–86 he featured prominently for Zaragoza's reserves in

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 ...

, in an eventual relegation-ending season. Before retiring, Ruiz also played professionally for Deportivo de La Coruña – no appearances whatsoever due to a serious injury– and

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante ...

, suffering another second division relegation with the latter side.

Coaching career

In 1997, shortly after retiring, Ruiz started coaching, starting with his first senior team Xerez and helping the Andalusians return to the second level in 2001 after a three-year absence. Subsequently, he was part of Bernd Schuster's staff at the Estadio Municipal de Chapín (in six matches comprising two separate seasons, he would also act as an interim manager). Schuster signed with

FC Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was ...

in 2003, and Ruiz was one of four coaches as Xerez finished ninth in the second tier. When the German returned to Spain to join

, Ruiz re-joined his coaching staff, continuing to work with him at his following clubs,

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol (), or simply Getafe, is a professional football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. The team competes in La Liga, the highest tier of the Spanish football system. The club's home stadium (owned and op ...

and

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, until he was dismissed from the latter in December 2008; amongst other tasks, he was charged with designing the teams' strategic set pieces. Ruiz started a career as manager in his own right in 2011, being linked to AD Alcorcón and CE Sabadell FC in 2013. On 24 December 2015, he was named Real Balompédica Linense coach after replacing the fired Rafael Escobar.

Managerial statistics (second division)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Manuel 1962 births Living people Footballers from Jerez de la Frontera Spanish footballers Association football goalkeepers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Xerez CD footballers Real Zaragoza players Real Zaragoza B players Deportivo de La Coruña players Levante UD footballers UD Almería players UD Melilla footballers Atlético Sanluqueño CF players Spain youth international footballers Spanish football managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Xerez CD managers Extremadura UD managers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey