Juan Ramón López Caro

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is López and the second or maternal family name is Caro.
Juan Ramón López Caro
Caro in a press conference as Oman manager in 2016
Personal information
Full name Juan Ramón López Caro
Date of birth (1963-03-23) 23 March 1963 (age 61)
Place of birth Lebrija, Spain
Youth career
Years Team
Lebrijana
Betis
Managerial career
1992–1993 Lebrijana
1993–1995 Lebrija
1995–1997 Los Palacios
1997–1998 Dos Hermanas
1998–1999 Melilla
1999–2001 Mallorca B
2000 Mallorca
2001–2005 Real Madrid B
2005–2006 Real Madrid
2006 Racing Santander
2006–2007 Levante
2007–2008 Celta
2008–2010 Spain U21
2010 Vaslui
2013–2014 Saudi Arabia
2016 Oman
2016–2017 Dalian Yifang
2018–2019 Shenzhen

Juan Ramón López Caro (Spanish pronunciation: [xwanraˈmon ˈlopeθ ˈkaɾo]; 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 moved abroad, managing the national sides of Saudi Arabia and Oman and winning promotion from China League One with two clubs.

Football career

Early career and Real Madrid

Born in Lebrija, Province of Seville, Andalusia, López Caro began working as coach before his 30th birthday, with clubs in his city of birth. His first job at the professional level arrived in the 1998–99 season, as he led Melilla to the first position in the Segunda División B, albeit without promotion in the playoffs. He then became manager of Mallorca B, and officially coached the first team in the UEFA Intertoto Cup against Romania's CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț in July 2000 (4–3 aggregate loss); the reserves contested this fixture as Luis Aragonés' side had not yet commenced pre-season.[1]

Lopéz Caro signed with Real Madrid in the summer of 2001, being in charge of the reserve team and achieving promotion to Segunda División in 2005.[2] He was promoted to the main squad in December of that year following the sacking of Vanderlei Luxemburgo, and his first game was a 2–1 away loss against Olympiacos in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.[3]

Levante, Celta and Spain U21

After leaving the Santiago Bernabéu in June 2006, López Caro was appointed at fellow top-flight club Racing Santander for a salary of €650,000 that would rise to €900,000 should the team avoid relegation.[4] However, a month later and without leading the Cantabrians in a competitive match, he moved to Levante.[5] The following January, days after a 3–0 defeat at city rivals Valencia, he was dismissed and Abel Resino appointed in his place.[6][7]

López Caro returned to the second tier in October 2007, succeeding Hristo Stoichkov at 11th-placed Celta.[8] The following March he too was relieved of his duties, with the side now in eighth but nine points off the promotion places.[9]

In May 2008, López Caro had his first international job, being placed in charge of the Spain's under-21s succeeding Iñaki Sáez.[10] He qualified them for the 2009 UEFA European Championship in Sweden,[11] where they were edged in the group stage by England and Germany.[12]

Vaslui and Middle East

In June 2010, López Caro moved abroad for the first time to Liga I's Vaslui,[13] on a three-year deal for a total €3.5 million salary subject to bonuses, therefore becoming the best paid coach in the competition's history.[14] He was fired in October, after enduring a rocky spell in Romania.[15][16]

López Caro succeeded Frank Rijkaard as manager of the Saudi Arabia national team in January 2013.[17] After a disappointing showing in the Arabian Gulf Cup in the run-up to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, he was dismissed in December 2014.[18] He remained in the Middle East and was hired for the same job by Oman in January 2016,[19] and left by mutual accord at the end of his one-year contract.[20]

China

Remaining in Asia, López Caro was hired by Dalian Yifang of China League One in November 2016.[21] In his only season, he won promotion to the Chinese Super League, with a record points tally and a game to spare.[22]

In April 2018, López Caro was appointed at Shenzhen, again in the second division and won promotion, this time as runners-up.[23] He was fired at the end of July 2019 with the side second from bottom in a 12-game winless run, and succeeded by Roberto Donadoni.[24]

Managerial statistics

As of 28 July 2019[25]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record Ref.
G W D L Win %
Los Palacios Spain 1 July 1995 30 June 1997 80 32 20 28 040.00 [26]
Dos Hermanas Spain 1 July 1997 30 June 1998 38 30 7 1 078.95 [27]
Melilla Spain 1 July 1998 30 June 1999 44 21 11 12 047.73 [28]
Mallorca B Spain 1 July 1999 30 June 2001 76 32 29 15 042.11 [29]
Mallorca Spain 30 June 2000 9 July 2000 2 1 0 1 050.00 [30]
Real Madrid B Spain 1 July 2001 4 December 2005 183 97 45 41 053.01 [31]
Real Madrid Spain 4 December 2005 3 June 2006 33 17 10 6 051.52 [32]
Racing Santander Spain 3 June 2006 6 July 2006 0 0 0 0 !—
Levante Spain 6 July 2006 15 January 2007 20 5 6 9 025.00 [33]
Celta Spain 8 October 2007 11 March 2008 21 7 8 6 033.33 [34]
Spain U21 Spain 1 July 2008 14 June 2010 17 9 3 5 052.94 [35]
Vaslui Romania 14 June 2010 9 October 2010 13 4 5 4 030.77
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 10 January 2013 15 December 2014 22 9 5 8 040.91
Oman Oman 14 January 2016 29 November 2016 8 3 2 3 037.50
Dalian Yifang China 29 November 2016 26 December 2017 32 19 8 5 059.38
Shenzhen China 11 April 2018 July 2019 46 17 11 18 036.96
Total 635 303 170 162 047.72 —

Honours

Melilla

Real Madrid B

Dalian Yifang

Saudi Arabia

Individual

  • China League One Best Coach: 2017[23]

References

  1. ^ "En Mallorca no olvidan al técnico" [In Mallorca they don't forget the manager]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 26 February 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b Fornieles, Raquel (27 June 2005). "El Madrid B toca el cielo" [Madrid B knock on heaven's door]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  3. ^ Trueba, Juanma (7 December 2005). "La juventud no es suficiente" [Youth is not enough]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  4. ^ Lávaro, E. (3 June 2006). "Caro: "Voy a luchar a muerte"" [Caro: "I will fight to the death"] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  5. ^ "López Caro no llegará a entrenar al Racing y se incorpora al Levante" [López Caro will not coach Racing and joins Levante]. El Día (in Spanish). 6 July 2006. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  6. ^ Giménez, Jordi (16 January 2007). "El Levante destituye a López Caro y presenta a Abel como nuevo técnico" [Levante dismiss López Caro and present Abel as new manager]. Las Provincias (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  7. ^ "El Levante destituye a López Caro y ficha a Abel Resino para sustituirle" [Levante dismiss López Caro and sign Abel Resino as his replacement]. Diario Información (in Spanish). 16 January 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  8. ^ "López Caro, nuevo entrenador del Celta tras la marcha de Stoichkov" [López Caro, new Celta manager after Stoichkov's departure]. Libertad Digital (in Spanish). 8 October 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  9. ^ "López Caro destituido como técnico del Celta de Vigo" [López Caro dismissed as Celta de Vigo manager]. La Opinión de Zamora (in Spanish). 11 March 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Luis Enrique, nuevo entrenador del Barcelona B" [Luis Enrique, new manager of Barcelona B]. El País (in Spanish). 26 May 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  11. ^ "La selección sub'21 cierra la fase de clasificación con éxito" [Under-21 team successfully complete qualification phase]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 9 September 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  12. ^ Atkin, John (23 June 2009). "Too little too late for Spain". UEFA. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  13. ^ "López Caro accepts Vaslui baton". UEFA. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Cel mai scump antrenor din istoria Ligii I a ajuns la Vaslui" [Best paid coach in history of League I joins Vaslui]. ProSport (in Romanian). 15 June 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  15. ^ Niculescu, Andrei (1 September 2010). "La increíble pesadilla de López Caro en Rumanía" [The incredible nightmare of López Caro in Romania]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  16. ^ "López Caro, destituido como técnico del Vaslui" [López Caro, dismissed as Vaslui coach]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 9 October 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  17. ^ "Saudi Arabia appoint Lopez Caro". Football España. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  18. ^ a b Khairy, Osama (6 December 2014). "Saudi Arabia sack coach Lopez Caro a month before Asian Cup". Reuters. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  19. ^ Seshagiri Rao, A. (15 January 2016). "Oman sets three targets for new coach Lopez Caro". Times of Oman. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  20. ^ "OFA thanks coach Lopez Caro for tenure". Oman Football Association. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  21. ^ "López Caro entrenará al Dalian Yifang de la segunda división china" [López Caro will manage Dalian Yifang of the Chinese second division] (in Spanish). W Radio. 30 November 2016. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  22. ^ a b Sainz de Vicuña, Mikel (21 October 2017). "López Caro, un campeón de récord" [López Caro, a record-breaking champion]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  23. ^ a b "El español López Caro, nuevo entrenador del Shenzhen en la 2ª división china" [Spaniard López Caro, new manager of Shenzhen in the Chinese 2nd division]. Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). 13 April 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  24. ^ "Donadoni replaces Lopez Caro at Shenzhen helm". Reuters. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  25. ^ Juan Ramón López Caro coach profile at Soccerway
  26. ^ "Tercera División (Grupo 10) 1995–96" [Tercera División (Group 10) 1995–96] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
    "Tercera División (Grupo 10) 1996–97" [Tercera División (Group 10) 1996–97] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  27. ^ "Regional Preferente Sevillana 1997–98" [Regional Preferente Sevillana 1997–98] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  28. ^ "López Caro: Juan Ramón López Caro". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  29. ^ "López Caro: Juan Ramón López Caro". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
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  30. ^ "López Caro: Juan Ramón López Caro". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  31. ^ "López Caro: Juan Ramón López Caro". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
    "López Caro: Juan Ramón López Caro". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
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  32. ^ "López Caro: Juan Ramón López Caro". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  33. ^ "López Caro: Juan Ramón López Caro". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  34. ^ "López Caro: Juan Ramón López Caro". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  35. ^ "López Caro: Juan Ramón López Caro". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 January 2017.