José "Pepe" Mel Pérez (born 28 February 1963) is a Spanish former

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 striker, 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 amassed

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 ...

totals of 215 matches and 78 goals over eight seasons, for

Real Madrid Castilla Real Madrid Castilla Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team that plays in Primera Federación – Group 1 for the 2022–23 season. It is Real Madrid's reserve team. They play their home games at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium with a cap ...

, Castellón and Betis. He also played in

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 ...

with the last club. Mel took up coaching in 1999, going on to be in charge of several teams, mainly

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Lig ...

and Betis, leading the latter to the second-tier championship in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Playing career

Castellón and Betis

Born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Mel started his career with

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 ...

, joining the club's youth system in 1974 at the age of 11 and playing alongside the likes of

Emilio Butragueño Emilio Butragueño Santos (; born 22 July 1963) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker. He was best known for his spell with Real Madrid. Nicknamed ''El Buitre'' (The Vulture), he was a member of the '' La Quinta del Buitre'' ...

and Míchel, although he never represented the first team, only competing at senior level with the reserves. In late 1987, after a very brief spell with

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El Sa ...

, he moved to

with

CD Castellón Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at ''No ...

where he played two years, helping the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...

side return to

in his second season after an absence of seven years. Mel enjoyed his best years at

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

, signing with the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

team in 1989 and helping them achieve promotion in his debut campaign whilst winning the

Pichichi Trophy In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...

with 22 goals, one better than in the previous season at Castellón. He scored 14 times the following year, but suffered immediate relegation; his debut in the competition was on 2 September 1990, and he found the net in a 2–2 home draw against

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, P ...

Late career

Mel played his remaining years in

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 ...

in Spain, and also in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, with

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (), known simply as Granada, is a Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that plays in the Segunda División, after being relegated from La Liga in the 2021� ...

– two years –

Benidorm CF 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

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 ...

, splitting his final season between

Angers SCO Angers Sporting Club de l'Ouest, commonly referred to as Angers SCO or simply Angers (), is a French professional football club based in Angers in Pays de la Loire in western France. The club was founded in 1919 and plays in Ligue 1, the first ...

and

Écija Balompié Écija Balompié, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Écija, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1939, it plays in División de Honor Andaluza, the fifth tier of Spanish football. History In 2007–08 season, the club b ...

. He retired at the age of 35, with a Spanish second division tally of 195 games and 73 goals.

Coaching career

Early years and Rayo

Mel started coaching one year after retiring, his first club being amateurs

CD Coslada Club Deportivo Coslada is a Spanish football team based in Coslada, in the autonomous Community of Madrid. Founded in 1972, it plays in Preferente at Level 6 of the Spanish football pyramid, holding home games at '' Estadio Municipal El Olivo'', ...

in the

Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest munici ...

. In 2001, after one year at

Real Murcia Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, playing ho ...

in division two, he replaced

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 ...

-bound

Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton. Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under-1 ...

at the helm of

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1912, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez Lóp ...

, having his first spell in the top flight as a coach and suffering relegation. In the following four seasons, Mel worked in the second level, being sacked early into 2005–06 by

Polideportivo Ejido Poli Ejido 2012 Sociedad Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in El Ejido, Province of Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1969 and dissolved in 2012, it held home matches at ''Estadio Municipal Santo Domingo'', ...

. Shortly after, he dropped down a tier and moved to

, helping the Madrid club return to the second division in his second year and subsequently leading it to the fifth place, with chances of promotion until the last month of competition.

Betis

On 15 February 2010, after a string of poor results, Mel was dismissed by Rayo, being replaced by

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 ...

Felipe Miñambres Felipe Miñambres Fernández (born 29 April 1965) is a Spanish retired Association football, footballer who played as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder, currently director of football of Levante UD. He spent 12 seasons in ...

who helped the side to the 11th place. In the summer he signed with former side Betis also in the second tier, leading the ''Verdiblancos'' back to the top flight in his

first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

. Mel coached Betis to the seventh position in the 2012–13 campaign, with the subsequent

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. He was relieved of his duties on 2 December 2013, however, after falling to a 4–0

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

loss at

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...

and conceding a last-minute 2–2 home equaliser to Rayo Vallecano.

West Bromwich Albion

On 9 January 2014, Mel signed an 18-month contract with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

of the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. His first match in charge came 11 days later, a 1–1 home draw against Everton. Mel obtained his first win in

English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...

after seven games, with a 2–1 victory at Swansea City on 15 March 2014. On 12 May, one day after the end of the season where he led the Baggies to the 17th place, he left by mutual consent with a record of three wins from 17 games.

Return to Betis

Mel returned to former club Betis in December 2014, with a contract lasting until the end of the campaign. He was the April 2015

Segunda División Manager of the Month The Manager of the Month is an association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangula ...

after his team won all their games, scoring 11 goals and conceding two. On 24 May, after only one loss in his tenure, the league was won as champions and promotion achieved with a 3–0 win over

AD Alcorcón Agrupación Deportiva Alcorcón S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Alcorcón, in the autonomous community of Madrid. Founded in 1971, it currently plays in Primera Federación – Group 1, holding home matches at the Municipal de Sant ...

. Mel was fired on 11 January 2016, with his team in 15th place following a poor run of form and also strained relationship.

Deportivo

On 28 February 2017, Mel was appointed at

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. They currently p ...

until the end of the season, replacing the sacked

Gaizka Garitano Gaizka Garitano Aguirre (born 9 July 1975) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, currently manager of SD Eibar. Over 11 seasons as a player, he amassed Segunda División totals of 315 matches and 37 goals, main ...

at a team two points above the relegation zone in the top division and winless in the new year. He was himself dismissed on 24 October, due to poor results.

Las Palmas

Mel was named manager of

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Las Palmas, on the island of Gran Canaria in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded on 22 August 1949, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at the ...

on 4 March 2019, replacing

Paco Herrera Francisco "Paco" Herrera Lorenzo (born 2 December 1953) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder, and is a manager. His managerial career of over a quarter of a century was spent mostly in Segunda División, where he led 13 ...

who had been fired earlier the same day, and signed a contract until the end of the season. On 23 January 2022, he was relieved of his duties.

Málaga

On 21 September 2022, Mel joined

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a association football, football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, ...

also in the second division. He was sacked the following 25 January 2023, with the club still in the relegation places.

Outside football

Mel is also a novelist, having published three books, ''Liar'', ''The Road to the Afterlife'' and ''The Test''.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Castellón *

: 1988–89

Manager

Rayo Vallecano *

: 2007–08 Betis *Segunda División: 2010–11, 2014–15

Individual

(Segunda División): 1989–90 *

: April 2015

References

External links

* *
Betisweb stats and bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mel, Pepe 1963 births Living people Spanish footballers Footballers from Madrid Association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Real Madrid C footballers Real Madrid Castilla footballers RSD Alcalá players CA Osasuna players CD Castellón footballers Real Betis players Granada CF footballers Benidorm CF footballers Getafe CF footballers Écija Balompié players Ligue 2 players Angers SCO players Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in France Spanish expatriate sportspeople in France Spanish football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Tercera División managers CP Mérida managers Real Murcia managers CD Tenerife managers Getafe CF managers Deportivo Alavés managers Polideportivo Ejido managers Rayo Vallecano managers Real Betis managers Deportivo de La Coruña managers UD Las Palmas managers Málaga CF managers Premier League managers West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England