Sergio Lobera Rodríguez (born 16 January 1977) is a Spanish professional

football manager ''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game bega ...

who is the current manager of

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

club

Sichuan Jiuniu Sichuan Jiuniu Football Club (Simplified Chinese: 四川九牛足球俱乐部) is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the China League One division under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The te ...

Football career

Lobera was born in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

, Aragon. After impressing with Dosa Salesians and UFB Jàbac Terrassa he signed with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

in 1997, going through its youth system and being manager of the C team in 2006–07, 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 ...

. He was appointed

sporting director 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 ...

Terrassa FC Terrassa Futbol Club is a Spanish football team based in Terrassa, Barcelona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1906 it currently plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 3, holding home matches at ''Estadi Olímpic de Terras ...

in June 2007, also being their coach for the last seven games of the season. In May 2010, Lobera was appointed CD San Roque de Lepe manager, agreeing to a three-year deal. The following campaign, he was in charge of

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. ...

also in Segunda División B. On 11 May 2012, Lobera was named

's assistant manager behind

Tito Vilanova Francesc "Tito" Vilanova Bayó (17 September 1968 – 25 April 2014) was a Spanish professional football central midfielder and manager. After a career which consisted of a total of 26 La Liga matches in three seasons, all with Celta, he went o ...

. However, roughly a month later, he signed as head coach of Segunda División side

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 t ...

. Lobera finished his first season in charge of a professional club in sixth position, being defeated in the play-offs by eventually promoted

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001, when it was renamed ''Unión D ...

. He renewed with the

Canarians Canary Islanders, or Canarians ( es, canarios), are a Romance people and ethnic group. They reside on the Canary Islands, an autonomous community of Spain near the coast of northwest Africa, and descend from a mixture of European settlers and ab ...

on 18 June 2013, but was relieved of his duties on 26 May of the following year. On 24 December 2014, Lobera was appointed at Botola's

Moghreb Tétouan Moghreb Atletico Tetouan ( ar, المغرب أتلتيكو تطوان; acronym MAT) is a Moroccan football club based in Tetouan. MA Tétouan was founded in 1922 and used to compete in the Tétouan local compétitions till 1956 when Morocco gai ...

until the end of the season. On 6 June 2017 he moved countries again, joining

FC Goa Football Club Goa is an Indian professional football club based in Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was established on 26 August 2014. Nicknamed as '' Gaurs'', the club plays their h ...

from the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

on a two-year contract. On 17 November 2018, Lobera renewed his link at the Fatorda Stadium until 2020. Five months later, he led his team to the conquest of the

Indian Super Cup AIFF Super Cup, also called the Super Cup or Hero Super Cup (for sponsorship ties), is an annual knockout football competition in Indian football. It is organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Competition is open to the clubs ...

. On 31 January 2020, however, he was dismissed despite being top of the table after several run-ins with the board of directors. Lobera continued in the Indian top flight in March 2020, signing with Mumbai City FC. He was officially presented on 12 October, being crowned champion in his debut campaign. On 19 January 2022, Lobera was appointed at

club Sichuan Jiuniu FC.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Goa *

Winners' Shield: 2019–20 *

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Mumbai City *Indian Super League: 2020–21 *Indian Super League Winners' Shield: 2020–21

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lobera, Sergio 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Zaragoza Spanish football managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Tercera División managers Terrassa FC managers AD Ceuta managers UD Las Palmas managers Moghreb Tétouan managers Indian Super League head coaches FC Goa managers Mumbai City FC head coaches China League One managers Sichuan Jiuniu F.C. managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Morocco Expatriate football managers in India Expatriate football managers in China Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Morocco Spanish expatriate sportspeople in India Spanish expatriate sportspeople in China FC Barcelona non-playing staff