José "Pepe" Mel Pérez (born 28 February 1963) is a Spanish former professional

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 striker, 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 amassed

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 ...

totals of 215 matches and 78 goals over eight seasons, for Real Madrid Castilla, Castellón and Betis. He also played in

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 ...

with the last of those clubs. Mel took up coaching in 1999, going on to be in charge of several teams, mainly Rayo Vallecano and Betis, leading the latter to the second-tier championship in

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 ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

. He also worked in England with

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 ...

and Greece with OFI, being dismissed five times throughout his career.

Playing career

Castellón and Betis

Born in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Mel started his career with

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 ...

, joining the club's youth system in 1974 at the age of 11 and playing alongside the likes of Emilio Butragueño and Míchel, although he never represented the first team, only competing at senior level with the reserves. In late 1987, after a very brief spell with

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 ...

, he moved to

with Castellón where he played two years, helping the

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 ...

side to return to

in his second season after an absence of seven years. Mel enjoyed his best years at

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

, signing with 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 ...

team in 1989 and helping them to achieve promotion in his debut campaign whilst winning the

Pichichi Trophy In Spanish Association football, football, the Pichichi Trophy () is awarded by the sports newspaper ''Marca (newspaper), Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Pichichi (footballer), Rafael ...

with 22 goals, one better than in the previous season at Castellón. He scored 14 times the following year, but suffered immediate relegation; his debut in the competition was on 2 September 1990, and he found the net in a 2–2 home draw against

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

Later career

Mel played his remaining years in the

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 ...

and also in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, with

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

– two years –

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

and

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

, splitting his final season between Écija and

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

. He retired at the age of 35, with a Spanish second division tally of 215 games and 78 goals.

Coaching career

Early years and Rayo

Mel started coaching one year after retiring, his first club being amateurs Coslada in the

Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta Central, Central Plateau (); its capital and largest munici ...

. In 2001, after one year at Real Murcia in division two, he replaced

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 ...

-bound

Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. He was most recently the manager of La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo, Celta Vigo. Beníte ...

at the helm of

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 ...

, having his first spell in the top flight as a coach and suffering relegation. In the following four seasons, Mel worked in the second level, being sacked early into 2005–06 by Polideportivo Ejido. Shortly after, he dropped down a tier and moved to Rayo Vallecano, helping the Madrid club to return to the second division in his second year and subsequently leading it to fifth place, with chances of promotion until the last month of competition.

Betis

On 15 February 2010, after a string of poor results, Mel was dismissed by Rayo, being replaced by

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, 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 typ ...

Felipe Miñambres who helped the side to the 11th position. In the summer, he signed with former side Betis also in the second tier, leading the ''Verdiblancos'' back to the top flight in his first year. Mel coached Betis to the seventh position in the 2012–13 campaign, with the subsequent

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. He was relieved of his duties on 2 December 2013, however, after falling to a 4–0

derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

loss at

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 ...

and conceding a last-minute 2–2 home equaliser to Rayo Vallecano.

West Bromwich Albion

On 9 January 2014, Mel signed an 18-month contract with

of 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 ...

. His first match in charge came 11 days later, a 1–1 home draw against Everton. Mel obtained his first win in English football after seven games, with a 2–1 victory at Swansea City on 15 March 2014. On 12 May, one day after the end of the season where he led the Baggies to the 17th place, he left by mutual consent with a record of three wins from 17 games.

Return to Betis

Mel returned to former club Betis in December 2014, with a contract lasting until the end of the campaign. He was the April 2015 Segunda División Manager of the Month after his team won all their games, scoring 11 goals and conceding two. On 24 May, after only one loss in his tenure, the league was won as champions and promotion achieved with a 3–0 win over Alcorcón. Mel was fired on 11 January 2016, with his team in 15th place following a poor run of form and also strained relationship.

Deportivo

On 28 February 2017, Mel was appointed at

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 ...

until the end of the season, replacing the sacked Gaizka Garitano at a team two points above the relegation zone in the top division and winless in the new year. He was himself dismissed on 24 October, due to poor results.

Las Palmas

Mel was named manager of

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

on 4 March 2019, replacing Paco Herrera who had been fired earlier the same day, and signed a contract until the end of the season. On 23 January 2022, he was relieved of his duties.

Málaga

On 21 September 2022, Mel joined

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

also in the second division. He was sacked the following 25 January 2023, with the club still in the relegation places.

OFI

On 14 December 2023, Mel was appointed at OFI in the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

, signing a contract until the end of the campaign. In February 2024, however, following only one win in 12 matches and eight losses, the last being a 4–0 defeat to Olympiacos, he left by mutual agreement.

Almería

On 13 March 2024, Mel took over

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

back in his home country's top tier, becoming their third coach of the season after Vicente Moreno and Garitano. He achieved the only three wins in the league, not being able to move from the 20th and last position (shared with Granada); he left on 28 May after his link expired.

Tenerife return

On 16 September 2024, Mel returned to Tenerife on a one-year deal, replacing the dismissed Óscar Cano. He was himself fired on 23 December after just three victories in 16 matches, in spite of having renewed his link the month before.

Outside football

Mel is also a novelist, having published three books, ''Liar'', ''The Road to the Afterlife'' and ''The Test''.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Castellón *

: 1988–89

Manager

Rayo Vallecano *

: 2007–08 Betis *Segunda División: 2010–11, 2014–15

Individual

(Segunda División): 1989–90 * Segunda División Manager of the Month: April 2015

References

External links

* *
Betisweb stats and bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mel, Pepe 1963 births Living people 20th-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Madrid Men's association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Real Madrid C footballers Real Madrid Castilla footballers RSD Alcalá players CA Osasuna players CD Castellón footballers Real Betis players Granada CF footballers Benidorm CF footballers Getafe CF footballers Écija Balompié players Championnat National players Angers SCO players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Spanish expatriate sportspeople in France Spanish football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Tercera División managers CP Mérida managers Real Murcia CF managers CD Tenerife managers Getafe CF managers Deportivo Alavés managers Polideportivo Ejido managers Rayo Vallecano managers Real Betis managers Deportivo de La Coruña managers UD Las Palmas managers Málaga CF managers UD Almería managers Premier League managers West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers Super League Greece managers OFI Crete F.C. managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in England Expatriate football managers in Greece Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece