Luis Ángel César Sampedro (born 3 May 1966), known as Luis César, is a Spanish former

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 lea ...

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 ...

, currently

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in . The club was founded in 1886 an ...

Playing career

Born in

Vilagarcía de Arousa Vilagarcía de Arousa (, ) is a municipality in the province of Province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, in Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. As of 2014 it has a population of 37,712, being ninth largest town in Galicia. History The present site of ...

Province of Pontevedra Pontevedra is a province of Spain, located in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, and Ourense, the country of Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. There is a public insti ...

, Luis César played for

Racing de Ferrol Racing Club de Ferrol, commonly known as Racing de Ferrol, is a Spanish football team based in Ferrol, Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1919, the club currently plays in , holding home games at '' E ...

for nearly a decade, never appearing in higher than

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

. In 2000, precisely after the Galician club returned to the

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 ...

after a 21-year absence, he retired from the game at the age of 34.

Coaching career

Immediately after retiring, César began coaching his only club, being relegated from division two in his third season and promoting immediately. In 2004, he signed with another team in the second tier,

. Luis César led ''Nàstic'' to

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 ...

in the 2005–06 campaign, with the

Catalans Catalans ( Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; ; ; or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia, a nationality and autono ...

returning to the tournament after 56 years. On 26 November 2006, however, after a 2–3 home loss against

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

, with the side having only totalled five points in 12 rounds, he was fired. For 2007–08, César signed for

Polideportivo Ejido Poli Ejido 2012 Sociedad Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in El Ejido, Province of Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1969 and dissolved in 2012, it held home matches at '' Estadio Municipal Santo Domingo'' ...

in the second division, but did not finish the season once more, being sacked after the 21st matchday (out of 42), with Fernando Castro Santos taking his place 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 after a seven-year stay in the competition. On 6 March 2010, months after a move to

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas S.A.D. is a professional association football, football club based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. The club will compete in Segunda División, the 2nd division in the Spanish football league syst ...

was eventually aborted, he returned to Gimnàstic after the dismissal of

César Ferrando César Ferrando Jiménez (born 25 July 1959) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a midfielder, currently a manager. Playing career Born in Tavernes de la Valldigna, Valencian Community, Ferrando started his professional career with lo ...

, with the team eventually finishing in 18th position – the first place above the relegation zone – just one point ahead of

Cádiz CF Cádiz Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Cádiz, Andalusia. Founded in 1910, the club competes in Segunda División, holding home games at Nuevo Mirandilla, with a seating capacity of 20,724. Salvadoran ...

. On 6 December 2010, following a 1–2 home defeat to

Villarreal CF B Villarreal Club de Fútbol "B" is a Spanish football team based in Villarreal, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1999, it is the reserve team of Villarreal CF and plays in , holding home games at '' Estadio de la Cerámica'', wit ...

, Luis César was relieved of his duties at Gimnàstic, as the team ranked 22nd and last with just two wins in 15 games. In the 2011–12 campaign he was one of two managers in charge of

CD Alcoyano Club Deportivo Alcoyano, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Alcoy, in the autonomous community of the Valencian Community. Founded in 1928, it plays in , holding home games in '' Estadio El Collao'', with a capacity of 4,850 seats. Hi ...

, who were finally relegated from the second tier. Luis César was appointed at

Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 5 July 1939, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish foo ...

on 20 March 2013, leading it to promotion at the end of his first full season. He was fired on 12 March 2016, and continued to work in division two with

CD Lugo Club Deportivo Lugo is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. Founded on 8 July 1953, it plays in Primera Federación, holding home games at ''Estadio Anxo ...

(two spells),

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the . The club ...

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1922, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez L� ...

and

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

. On 11 May 2025, after more than four years without a club, Luis César returned to Gimnàstic for a third spell on a contract until June 2026.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* *
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampedro, Luis Cesar 1966 births Living people 20th-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Vilagarcía de Arousa Men's association football goalkeepers Segunda División B players Tercera División players Racing de Ferrol footballers Spanish football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Racing de Ferrol managers Gimnàstic de Tarragona managers Polideportivo Ejido managers CD Alcoyano managers Albacete Balompié managers CD Lugo managers Real Valladolid managers CD Tenerife managers Deportivo de La Coruña managers