Carlos Corberán Vallet (born 7 April 1983) is a Spanish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 * Coac ...

and former

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

who is currently head coach of

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. Previously the head coach of

Doxa Doxa (; from verb ) Liddell, Henry George, and Robert Scott. 1940.δοκέω" In ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', edited by H. S. Jones and R. McKenzie. Oxford. Clarendon Press. – via Perseus Project. is a common belief or popular opinion. In ...

and Ermis in the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

, Corberán was first team assistant coach and manager of the under-23s side at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. He then managed in his own right at

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

and

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

before joining boyhood club Valencia in December 2024.

Playing career

Born in

Cheste Cheste is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Hoya de Buñol in the Valencian Community, Spain, located 26 km from the capital Valencia. History According to the Valencian historian Escolano, the first settlers of the region of Cheste ...

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

on 7 April 1983, Corberán represented hometown side CD Cheste and

as a youth. He began his senior career as a goalkeeper playing for Valencia B before moving to

Burjassot Burjassot (; ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Horta Nord in the Valencian Community, Spain. Museums The Museum of Geology at the University of Valencia is located on calle Doctor Moliner. It has several collections of geological and ...

and then Ribarroja. At the age of 23, in 2006 after playing no higher than

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

, he decided to retire to pursue his passion for coaching.

Coaching career

Early career

After retiring, Corberán started working at

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

's C and B-teams, as a fitness coach. In 2011, after the appointment of Juan Carlos Garrido in the first team, he was named fitness coach of the main squad. In February 2012, Corberán signed for Saudi Arabian team

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

alongside head coach

Raúl Caneda Raúl Caneda Pérez (born 21 January 1969) is a Spanish football manager of Chinese Super League club Zhejiang FC. Caneda holds both the UEFA Pro and UEFA "A" coaching licenses and has coached a number of professional football teams across th ...

, having been recommended by

Pep Guardiola Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (; born 18 January 1971) is a Catalans, Catalan professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player from Spain who has been the manager of club Manchester City F.C., Ma ...

. Whilst at the club, he was a fitness coach and helped get the club to the semi-finals of the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

. In July 2013, Corberán was appointed manager of

Alcorcón Alcorcón () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. As of 2022, it had a population of 170,296. Geography The municipality, largely flat, lies at an average altitude of 711 metres above sea level, with the hi ...

's ''Juvenil A'' squad, but was relieved from his duties and replaced by José María Rico the following January. In 2014, he returned to Saudi Arabia and joined

Al-Nassr Al-Nassr Football Club () is a professional football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The club competes in the Saudi Pro League, the top tier of the Saudi football league system. Al-Nassr is one of only three clubs to have participated ...

, and was named as Caneda's assistant. They were runners-up in the Super Cup, and reached the group phase in the

and were also finalists in the King's Cup.

Cyprus

On 29 November 2016, Corberán had his first senior managerial experience after being appointed in charge of

in the

. The following 24 January, however, he was sacked. Corberán was appointed the new head coach of Ermis, also in the Cypriot top tier, on 30 January 2017, where he helped guide them to a seventh place finish, before being replaced by

Nicos Panayiotou Nicos Panayiotou (born December 6, 1970) is a former international Cypriot football goalkeeper. He started his career from Anorthosis. He played there for seventeen years. He was the captain of Anorthosis. Then, he moved to AEK Larnaca where h ...

Leeds United

On 21 June 2017, Corberán was announced as the new

under-23 manager, replacing the departed

Jason Blunt Jason John Blunt (born 16 August 1977) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played in midfield. He is now manager of Doncaster City. He was formerly the Leeds United academy under-23s manager in the summer of 2 ...

. After the appointment of new head coach

Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning 'The Madman Bielsa'; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional Association football, football manager who is the current manager of the Uruguay national football team ...

in June 2018, Corberán was promoted to first team coach, as well as continuing his role as the head coach of the Under 23s. In October 2018, Corberán was described as "very talented" by Bielsa, with Bielsa stating he values Corberán's opinion "more than his own". Corberán's side won the PDL Northern League 2018–19 season by winning the league, they then became the national

Professional Development League The Professional Development League is a system of Football in England, English youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Th ...

Champions by beating

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

in the final. In June 2019, it was reported that Corberán would be offered the head coach job at Spanish side

Cultural Leonesa Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa (), better known as Cultural Leonesa or La Cultural, is a Spanish football team based in León, in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon. Founded on 5 August 1923, it currently plays in Primera División RFE ...

, but he decided to stay at Leeds to remain under Bielsa. A year later, Leeds earned promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

winners.

Huddersfield Town

In July 2020, Corberán was offered the position of head coach at

, which he accepted and his appointment was confirmed on 23 July. On his debut, on 5 September, the club lost 1–0 at home to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

in the first round of the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

; the first league game a week later saw the same score against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

, also at the

Kirklees Stadium Kirklees Stadium, currently known as the John Smith's Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Huddersfield Town A.F.C., Huddersfield Town A ...

. Corberán missed the opening game of the 2021–22 season due to a positive COVID-19 test. The 2021–22 season saw the Terriers finish in third position. After drawing the first leg of the play-off semi-finals 1–1 away from home, a 1–0 home victory saw them defeat

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

and set up a final with

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

. The match was decided with a Huddersfield own goal. On 7 July 2022, Corberán resigned from his position as head coach.

Olympiacos

On 1 August 2022, Corberán was appointed head coach of

. During the Europa League qualification, under his management, the team managed to qualify for the group stages, despite the fact that the qualification was decided on penalties on two occasions in a row. He was sacked after two consecutive defeats in the Europa League group stage, and a 2–1 defeat by

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, with the team fifth in the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

West Bromwich Albion

On 25 October 2022, Corberán returned to the English Championship, being appointed head coach of

on a 2-year deal. He joined a team that were second from bottom after 16 games. His debut four days later was a 2–0 home loss to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

. He won ten of the next twelve league games. On 7 February 2023, amid speculation of a return to Leeds following the sacking of

Jesse Marsch Jesse Alan Marsch ( ; born November 8, 1973) is an American professional association football, soccer coach and former player who is the head coach of the Canada men's national soccer team, Canada men's national team. Marsch played 14 seasons ...

, Corberán signed a contract extension, keeping him at the club until 2027. His team remained in contention for the play-offs until the final day, losing 3–2 at

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

to finish ninth.

Valencia

On 24 December 2024, Corberán signed a 3-year deal to become the head coach of his hometown and boyhood club,

side

. Taking over with the club in the relegation places, he oversaw an upturn in form and led them to an eventual 12th place finish in La Liga.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

Leeds United U23 * Professional Development Northern League: 2018–19 *

: 2018–19 Individual * EFL Championship Manager of the Month: February 2022

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Corberan, Carlos 1983 births Living people Footballers from the Province of Valencia Spanish men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Valencia CF Mestalla footballers Spanish football managers Spanish football coaches Cypriot First Division managers English Football League managers Super League Greece managers La Liga managers Doxa Katokopias FC managers Leeds United F.C. non-playing staff Huddersfield Town A.F.C. managers Spanish expatriate football managers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Expatriate football managers in England Ermis Aradippou FC managers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate football managers in Greece Olympiacos F.C. managers West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers Valencia CF managers 21st-century Spanish sportsmen