Juan Carlos Unzué Labiano (born 22 April 1967) 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 ...

manager and former player who played as a

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 ...

. As a player, he represented mostly

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

, for which he appeared in nearly 300 official games. He also spent two years with

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, and played 318

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 ...

matches in 17 seasons. After retiring, Unzué went on to work extensively as a goalkeeper coach and a manager.

Playing career

Born in

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

, Unzué came through the ranks of hometown club

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish ...

, but could not break into the first team. More of the same happened after he signed with

giants

in 1988, as he was barred by

Andoni Zubizarreta Andoni Zubizarreta Urreta (, ; born 23 October 1961) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. The most capped player for the Spain national team for several years, he played with individual and team success for ...

. Joining

for 1990–91, Unzué blossomed as a top-flight player, rarely missing a match in his first five years. As the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

ns were relegated at the end of the 1996–97 campaign, he moved to

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

for a further two seasons. After two years at

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo ( Asturian: Real Uviéu) is a Spanish professional football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, the club plays in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The club plays at ...

as backup to local

Esteban Esteban () is a Spanish male given name, derived from Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos) and related to the English names Steven and Stephen. Although in its original pronunciation the accent is on the penultimate syllable, English-speakers tend ...

, his input consisting of seven

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

appearances, Unzué returned to his first club in summer 2001, being the starter in his debut season and second choice in the second. He retired from the game in June 2003 at age 36, after having helped his team reach the semi-finals of the domestic cup.

Coaching career

Unzué returned to the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

immediately after retiring, as

Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Regarded as one of the greatest midfielders in footballing history, Rijkaard was described by British broa ...

's goalkeeping coach. After the Dutchman left, he retained his position under

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 ...

. On 17 June 2010, after five years with Barcelona, Unzué had his first head coach experience, joining

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

team Numancia. One year later, he returned to his previous position, replacing Carles Busquets. On 21 June 2012, Unzué was presented as

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

manager. On 13 August, however, he was dismissed following disagreements with the board of directors over the duration of his contract, and became

Luis Enrique Luis Enrique Martínez García (; born 8 May 1970), known as Luis Enrique, is a Spanish football manager and former player. He is the manager of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. A versatile player with good technique, he was capable of playin ...

's assistant at

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was fou ...

the following 13 June. Unzué returned to Barcelona on 15 July 2014, remaining as Luis Enrique's assistant. On 28 May 2017, he returned to managerial duties after being appointed at the helm of Celta for two seasons. On 19 May 2018, after finishing in a disappointing 13th position, Unzué left Balaídos. On 13 June 2019, after more than a year without a club, he signed with recently relegated side

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

, being relieved of his duties on 21 October.

Personal life

Unzué's son, Jesús (born 1993), is also a footballer and a goalkeeper. He was a member of the Barcelona Juvenil squad which won the league and

cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

in 2011, but was unable to make the breakthrough to the professional level and moved on to local clubs such as

Gavà Gavà () is a municipality in the Baix Llobregat comarca, in the province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It borders the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between Viladecans and Castelldefels. Gavà has a beach and two population centers: the ci ...

and Júpiter. Unzué's older son, Aitor, played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

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 ...

(also with Gavà), and his niece

Marta Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river), an Italian river that flow ...

represented

. A keen cyclist in his spare time, he came from a family which was heavily involved in cycle racing: his brother Eusebio managed the , whilst his nephew

Enrique Sanz Enrique Sanz Unzué (born 11 September 1989) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. Sanz comes from a sporting family; he is the nephew of the general manager, Eusebio Unzué, while his father Enrique and brother Jorge also work for the te ...

was a racing cyclist. In February 2020, Unzué was diagnosed with

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...

. On 18 June, one day before the league game between Sevilla and Barcelona in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

and three days ahead of the International ALS/MND day, he made his condition public at a special press conference held at the

Managerial statistics

Honours

Barcelona *

: 1989–90 *

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

: 1988–89 Spain U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

runner-up:

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unzue, Juan Carlos 1967 births Living people 20th-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Pamplona Men's association football goalkeepers La Liga players Segunda División B players CA Osasuna B players CA Osasuna players FC Barcelona players Sevilla FC players CD Tenerife players Real Oviedo players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Basque Country men's international footballers Spanish football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers CD Numancia managers Racing de Santander managers RC Celta de Vigo managers Girona FC managers Association football goalkeeping coaches FC Barcelona non-playing staff People with motor neuron disease