Rafael "Rafa" Navarro Rivas (born 10 January 1972) is a Spanish retired

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 ...

who played as a winger, and is 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 ...

Playing career

Born in Córdoba,

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost 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 "historical nationality". The t ...

, Navarro joined

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 E ...

's youth setup at the age of 17, from Córdoba CF. In 1991, after finishing his formation, he returned to his previous club and was assigned to the main squad in Segunda División B. For the 1995–96 campaign, Navarro moved straight to

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' ...

, joining

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, ...

after a one-year spell at

Real Jaén Real Jaén Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Jaén, Spain, Jaén, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1929 it plays in Tercera División RFEF, holding home matches at ''Nu ...

in the third division. However, he only featured in two

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

matches for the side before being loaned to Segunda División side

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

. After featuring sparingly, Navarro left the ''Rojiblancos'' and moved to

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 ...

in the third division, in 1997. The following year, he rejoined his first club Córdoba, featuring regularly and helping in the club's promotion to the second level in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

. In December 2002, after being deemed surplus to requirements at the ''Blanquiverdes'', Navarro joined

AD Ceuta Asociación Deportiva Ceuta was a Spanish football team based in the autonomous city of Ceuta. Founded in 1996, its last season was 2011–12 in Segunda División B, holding home matches at ''Estadio Alfonso Murube'', with a capacity of 6,500. ...

in the third tier. He went on to resume his career mainly in that division in the following years, representing CD Linares,

CD Villanueva Club Deportivo Villanueva was a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Villanueva de Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1951 and dissolved in June 2009, it held home matches at ''Estadio San Mig ...

Lucena CF Lucena Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. was a Spanish football team based in Lucena, Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1968, it was dissolved in 2015. History ''Lucena Club de Fútbol'' was founded in 1968. It was originally ...

and CD Iliturgi; he retired with the latter in 2007, aged 35.

Managerial career

In 2008, shortly after his retirement, Navarro worked as an assistant coach of Córdoba's B and first teams. He left in 2009, but returned in the following year as manager of the youth categories. In 2013, Navarro took over CA Espeleño in the regional leagues, achieving promotion to

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 ...

with the club in 2016. He left the club in June 2018, subsequently returning to Córdoba on 28 September of that year as a director of the youth setup. On 25 February 2019, Navarro was appointed at the helm of the ''Blanquiverdes' ''first team, replacing sacked Curro Torres. He left at the end of the season following their relegation to Segunda B, but remained employed by the club.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Navarro, Rafa 1972 births Living people Footballers from Córdoba, Spain Spanish men's footballers Men's association football wingers Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Córdoba CF players Real Jaén footballers Sporting de Gijón players Villarreal CF players Recreativo de Huelva players AD Ceuta footballers CD Linares players Lucena CF players Spanish football managers Córdoba CF managers