Roberto Álvarez Álvarez (1 October 1942 – 26 June 2023) was a Spanish

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

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 ...

, and later worked as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Playing career

Born in Villamartín de Sil,

Páramo del Sil Páramo del Sil is a municipality of Spain, in the region of El Bierzo, province of León, autonomous region of Castilla y León. The municipality is situated on the banks of the river Sil in the most northern part of El Bierzo El Bierz ...

, El Bierzo, León, Álvarez started his senior career with SD Ponferradina in 1962, in

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 ...

. After a spell at Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa, he moved to

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 ...

side CD Mestalla in 1965. Álvarez made his professional debut on 28 December 1965, starting and scoring his side's third goal through a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in a 3–3 home draw against Recreativo de Huelva. He appeared rarely for the club during his two-year spell, and subsequently joined CD Tenerife before retiring.

Managerial career

Álvarez started his managerial career with

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 ...

in 1988, taking the side back to the second tier after an absence of seven years at first attempt. He was sacked in March 1990, after a winless run of seven games. In May 1990 Álvarez was appointed manager of fellow league team

Palamós CF Palamós Club de Futbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Palamós, a town and commercial port in the ''Costa Brava'', in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in the late 19th century, it currently plays in '' Tercera Divisió ...

. After 22 games in charge, he was relieved from his duties. In 1992 Álvarez was named manager of his first club Ponferradina. In charge for two full seasons, he suffered relegation to the fourth level in his second season before resigning; he would return to the club later in the same year. Álvarez was subsequently appointed at

UDA Gramenet Unión Deportiva Atlético Gramenet Milán is a Spanish football team based in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1945 it currently plays in ''Segona Catalana – Group 4'', holding home games at '' Muni ...

(two spells),

CP Almería Club Polideportivo Almería is a football club based in the city of Almería, Andalusia, in Spain. It currently plays in División de Honor, holding home matches at ''Estadio Juventud Emilio Campra'', which holds a capacity of 2,000 people. His ...

and Levante.

Death

Álvarez died on 26 June 2023, at the age of 80.

References

External links

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Aúpa Deportiva profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Roberto 1942 births 2023 deaths People from El Bierzo Footballers from the Province of León Spanish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Segunda División players Tercera División players SD Ponferradina players Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa players Valencia CF Mestalla footballers CE Europa footballers CD Tenerife players Spanish football managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Tercera División managers CF Reus Deportiu managers Terrassa FC managers UE Lleida managers Levante UD managers CD Teruel managers Palamós CF managers SD Ponferradina managers CP Almería managers