Luis Milla Aspas (born 12 March 1966) 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

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, currently a

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 ...

. He represented three clubs – including

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

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

– in a 16-year-professional career, where he won three

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 ...

titles (one with the former and two with the latter) and amassed totals of 298 matches and six goals. Milla later worked as a manager, being in charge of Spain's youth teams for several years.

Playing career

Milla was born in

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel (province), Teruel Province. It had a population of 35,900 as of 2022, making it the least populated provincial capital in Spain. It is noted for its har ...

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

. After finishing his development with

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

he made his

debut in 1984–85, scoring in his only appearance of the season against

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

as ''Barça'' pitched in a team majorly composed of youth players due to a general professional's

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

. Definitely promoted to the first team in 1988, Milla would be involved two years later in a sour contract renewal dispute with the board of directors and manager

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...

, which eventually finished with his free transfer to

. He was seriously injured in his debut campaign, but bounced to back to be an important first-team element in the claiming of two leagues and one

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 ...

, being fairly used even after the 1994 purchase of

Fernando Redondo Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri (; born 6 June 1969) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He most notably played for Real Madrid and AC Milan. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive m ...

. Milla finished his career in June 2001 after four years at

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

, with more than 400 official appearances as a professional. Over a three-month period beginning in late 1989, he earned himself three

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the Spain national team, the first against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in a

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

qualifier.

Coaching career

Milla was first involved in professional coaching in 2007–08, assisting former Barcelona and Madrid teammate

Michael Laudrup Michael Laudrup (, born 15 June 1964) is a Danish professional Association football, football coach and former player. Renowned for his composure, passing, vision, technical skills, ball control, and dribbling ability, Laudrup is widely regarded ...

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. They compete in La Liga, the top tier of the Football in Spain, Spanish football. The team has pla ...

. In the ensuing summer, he was named the national under-17's manager after

Vicente del Bosque Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquess of Del Bosque (; born 23 December 1950) is a Spanish retired football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and is to date the only football manager to ha ...

's appointment at the senior side. At the

2009 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship 2009 Final Tournament was held in Ukraine in the cities of Donetsk and Mariupol. Players born after 1 January 1990 were eligible to participate in this competition. Qualification Qualification for the final ...

, Milla's team did not progress through the group stage. In the 2010 edition in France, however, he led

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

to the final, which ended in defeat to the hosts. Later that year, Milla replaced

Juan Ramón López Caro Juan Ramón López Caro (; born 23 March 1963) is a Spanish football manager. He managed Real Madrid and Levante in La Liga, as well as Celta and Real Madrid Castilla in the Segunda División. After a spell in charge of Spain under-21 he mov ...

at the helm of the under-21 side. Despite finding a delicate situation upon his arrival, he managed to qualify for the 2011 European championship after defeating

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in a two-legged

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eith ...

. In the final stages in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, Milla led the Spanish under-21s to their third title, after only conceding two goals in five games (four wins and one draw). He was sacked after his team failed to qualify from the group phase at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. In February 2013, Milla was appointed at

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

Al Jazira Club Al Jazira Club () is an Emirati professional football club based in Abu Dhabi, that currently competes in the UAE Pro League. History Al-Jazira was established in 1974 as a merger between ''Khalidiyah'' and ''Al Bateen''. The club struggled ...

. His first match in charge was a 3–1 loss at Tractor Sazi F.C. in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

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 ...

. Milla returned to Spain in the 2015 off-season, signing as

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 ...

club

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 ...

head coach and resigning in late February 2016 in unclear circumstances. The following season, in the same capacity, he joined Zaragoza also at that level, being dismissed after only four months in charge and six matches without a win. On 21 January 2017, Milla succeeded

Alfred Riedl Alfred Riedl (2 November 1949 – 8 September 2020) was an Austrian football player and manager. As a player he was a striker. Playing career Club career Riedl first played for Austria Wien from 1967 to 1972, before leaving Austria to play f ...

at the helm of the Indonesia national team by signing a two-year deal. In October 2018, he had his contract terminated by the

Football Association of Indonesia The Football Association of Indonesia (; 'All-Indonesian Football Association'; abbreviated as PSSI) is the governing body of Football soccer, football in Indonesia. It was founded on 19 April 1930. The PSSI joined FIFA in 1952 and the Asian F ...

. On 19 August 2022, Milla was announced as the new manager of

Persib Bandung Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Bandung (), also known in acronym as Persib (), is an Indonesian professional football club based in Bandung, West Java. The club competes in the Liga 1, the top tier of Indonesian football. Founded in 1919 as ...

. On 15 July 2023, he left for personal reasons.

Personal life

Milla's son, also named Luis, was also a footballer and a midfielder. On 28 November 2017, the latter scored in a 2–2 draw at Real Madrid in the

round of 32 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

of the

, achieving this feat at the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...

24 years after the father.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Barcelona *

: 1984–85 *

: 1989–90 *

European 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 Real Madrid *La Liga: 1994–95, 1996–97 *Copa del Rey: 1992–93 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

Valencia *Copa del Rey: 1998–99 *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

runner-up: 1999–2000, 2000–01

Manager

Spain U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Spain U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

runner-up:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milla, Luis 1966 births Living people People from Teruel 20th-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Teruel Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players FC Barcelona C players FC Barcelona players FC Barcelona Atlètic players Real Madrid CF players Valencia CF players Spain men's international footballers Spanish football managers Segunda División managers Tercera División managers CD Lugo managers Real Zaragoza managers UAE Pro League managers Al Jazira Club managers Liga 1 (Indonesia) managers Persib Bandung managers Spain national under-21 football team managers Olympic coaches for Spain Indonesia national football team managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate football managers in Indonesia Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia Getafe CF non-playing staff