Felipe Miñambres Explained

Felipe Miñambres
Fullname:Felipe Miñambres Fernández
Birth Date:29 April 1965
Birth Place:Astorga, Spain
Height:1.74 m
Position:Midfielder
Currentclub:Levante (director of football)
Youthyears1:1980–1983
Years1:1983–1984
Years2:1984–1986
Years3:1986–1988
Years4:1988–1989
Years5:1989–1999
Clubs1:Atlético Astorga
Clubs2:Zamora
Clubs4:Sporting Gijón
Clubs5:Tenerife
Caps2:69
Caps3:57
Caps4:38
Caps5:310
Totalcaps:474
Goals2:24
Goals3:38
Goals4:9
Goals5:33
Totalgoals:104
Nationalyears1:1989–1994
Nationalteam1:Spain
Nationalcaps1:6
Nationalgoals1:2
Manageryears1:1999
Manageryears2:2002–2003
Manageryears3:2003–2005
Manageryears4:2006
Manageryears5:2006–2007
Manageryears6:2010
Manageryears7:2022
Manageryears8:2024
Managerclubs6:Rayo Vallecano
Managerclubs7:Levante (interim)
Managerclubs8:Levante

Felipe Miñambres Fernández (born 29 April 1965) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, currently director of football of Levante UD.

He spent 12 seasons in La Liga, with Sporting de Gijón (two years) and Tenerife (ten), amassing totals of 348 games and 42 goals. He represented Spain at the 1994 World Cup.

Miñambres worked with several clubs as a manager since 1999, being in charge of Tenerife, Salamanca, Rayo Vallecano and Levante in the Segunda División.

Club career

A product of Sporting de Gijón's famed youth system, Mareo, Miñambres was born in Astorga, Province of León, and made his debut with the first team during 1987–88, being an undisputed starter the following season when he scored a career-best nine goals in La Liga.[1]

For the 1989–90 campaign, Miñambres signed with CD Tenerife, going on to be active part of the club's top-flight consolidation and subsequent UEFA Cup participations.[2] [1] As the Canary Islands side were relegated in 1999,[3] he retired from football at the age of 34 and went into management.

Miñambres started coaching former team Tenerife (being one of four managers during 1999–2000 in the Segunda División),[4] then continued with Hércules CF, UD Salamanca, Alicante CF and UE Lleida.[5] In the 2007–08 season, he became Rayo Vallecano's director of football.[6]

On 15 February 2010, with the Madrid club now in the second tier but immerse in a sporting crisis, Miñambres replaced the dismissed Pepe Mel as coach.[7] In June, after helping them to retain their league status, he returned to the office.[8]

After leaving the Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas in 2016, Miñambres was employed in the same capacity at RC Celta de Vigo.[9] On 11 February 2022, he moved to Levante UD also as a director of football,[10] but was also in charge of the team for two matches in October after relieving Mehdi Nafti of his duties.[11]

Miñambres returned to the bench at the Estadi Ciutat de València on 19 February 2024, now in place of the sacked Javier Calleja, for the remainder of the season.[12]

International career

Over four and a half years, Miñambres won six caps for Spain and scored two goals.[13] His debut came on 13 December 1989 in a 2–1 friendly victory over Switzerland, and he netted the last in the 59th minute of a match played in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.[14]

Miñambres was subsequently part of Spain's squad at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, appearing against South Korea and Bolivia.[15] [16]

Managerial statistics

Managerial record by team and tenure
TeamNatFromToRecord
Tenerife3 October 199910 October 1999[17]
Hércules25 March 200217 March 2003[18]
Salamanca1 July 20036 March 2005[19]
Alicante13 February 200630 June 2006[20]
Lleida1 July 200631 January 2007[21]
Rayo Vallecano15 February 201020 June 2010[22]
Levante (interim)10 October 202216 October 2022[23]
Levante19 February 20242 June 2024[24]
Total

Notes and References

  1. Web site: El CD Tenerife otorga a Felipe Miñambres el distintivo de 'Leyenda Blanquiazul'. CD Tenerife award 'White-and-blue Legend' badge to Felipe Miñambres. CD Tenerife. es. 26 April 2021. 2 November 2022.
  2. Web site: ¿Qué fue del CD Tenerife semifinalista de la UEFA?. What happened to UEFA semi-finalists CD Tenerife?. Sphera Sports. Juanma. Perera. es. 18 January 2017. 21 September 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170921144142/http://www.spherasports.com/que-fue-tenerife-semifinalista-uefa-116746/. 21 September 2017.
  3. News: El día que Juanele salió ‘por patas’ del Heliodoro. The day Juanele ran 'like hell' from the Heliodoro. El Diario. es. 13 June 2020. 2 November 2022.
  4. News: El ‘caso Jordi’, 20 años después. The 'Jordi affair', 20 years later. El Diario. es. 12 December 2019. 2 November 2022.
  5. Web site: Felipe Miñambres serà el nou entrenador del Lleida la pròxima temporada. Felipe Miñambres will be the new manager of Lleida next season. Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals. ca. 30 June 2006. 2 August 2019.
  6. News: El olfato de Felipe Miñambres, clave en los éxitos del Rayo Vallecano. Felipe Miñambres' flair, key in Rayo Vallecano's success. La Vanguardia. David. Ramiro. es. 24 June 2015. 7 April 2021.
  7. News: Felipe Miñambres, nuevo técnico del Rayo. Felipe Miñambres, new manager of Rayo. La Opinión de Zamora. es. 16 February 2010. 7 April 2021.
  8. News: Sandoval, nuevo entrenador del Rayo Vallecano. Sandoval, new Rayo Vallecano coach. Diario AS. es. 20 June 2010. 2 November 2022.
  9. News: Felipe Miñambres, nuevo director deportivo del Celta. Felipe Miñambres, new Celta sporting director. Marca. es. 2 June 2016. 2 August 2019.
  10. News: Miñambres deja el Celta con 17,6 millones de superávit en ventas. Miñambres leaves Celta with a 17.6 million surplus on sales. La Voz de Galicia. es. 11 February 2022. 10 October 2022.
  11. News: Felipe Miñambres coge al Levante tras destituir a Nafti. Felipe Miñambres takes reins of Levante after dismissing Nafti. Diario AS. Javi. Teruel. es. 10 October 2022. 2 November 2022.
  12. News: El Levante despide a Javi Calleja y Miñambres se hace cargo del equipo. Levante sack Javi Calleja and Miñambres takes over the team. Marca. Noel. Rodilla. es. 19 February 2024. 19 February 2024.
  13. News: Felipe las pilla al vuelo. Felipe takes them as they come. La Nueva España. Mario. D. Braña. es. 16 January 2013. 2 November 2022.
  14. News: La selección no pudo dar su mejor imagen. National team could not show best side. Mundo Deportivo. Jordi. Archs. es. 14 December 1989. 23 January 2014.
  15. News: World Cup '94; Up 2–0 with only 10 men, Spain must settle for a tie. The New York Times. Sam. Howe Verhovek. 18 June 1994. 7 April 2021.
  16. News: World Cup '94; Bolivia scores, but will still go home. The New York Times. Christopher. Clarey. 28 June 1994. 1 September 2017.
  17. Web site: Felipe: Felipe Miñambres Fernández. BDFutbol. 5 March 2017.
  18. Web site: Felipe: Felipe Miñambres Fernández. BDFutbol. 5 March 2017.
    Web site: Felipe: Felipe Miñambres Fernández. BDFutbol. 5 March 2017.
  19. Web site: Felipe: Felipe Miñambres Fernández. BDFutbol. 5 March 2017.
    Web site: Felipe: Felipe Miñambres Fernández. BDFutbol. 5 March 2017.
  20. Web site: Felipe: Felipe Miñambres Fernández. BDFutbol. 5 March 2017.
  21. Web site: Felipe: Felipe Miñambres Fernández. BDFutbol. 5 March 2017.
  22. Web site: Felipe: Felipe Miñambres Fernández. BDFutbol. 5 March 2017.
  23. Web site: Felipe: Felipe Miñambres Fernández. BDFutbol. 24 October 2022.
  24. Web site: Felipe: Felipe Miñambres Fernández. BDFutbol. 20 February 2024.