Rubén Sellés

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Sellés and the second or maternal family name is Salvador.
Rubén Sellés
Personal information
Full name Rubén Sellés Salvador
Date of birth (1983-06-15) 15 June 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth Valencia, Spain
Team information
Current team
 Hull City (head coach)
Youth career
Years Team
1999–2001 Parreta
2001–2002 Burjassot
Managerial career
2022 Southampton (caretaker)
2023 Southampton
2023–2024 Reading
2024– Hull City

Rubén Sellés Salvador (born 15 June 1983) is a Spanish professional football manager who is currently the head coach of EFL Championship club Hull City (As of 18th January 2025).[1]

Sellés has also managed Southampton in the Premier League and the Valencia Under-18 team. With coaching experience in Greece, Russia, Azerbaijan, Denmark, Spain and England, Sellés has a Master's degree in Sports & Physiology from the University of Valencia, and graduated from UEFA's Pro Licence programme aged 25.

Coaching career

Born in Marxalenes, a neighborhood in Valencia, Sellés played for local side Parreta CF before finishing his formation with Burjassot.[2] At the age of 16, he was already coaching the youth sides of Parreta.[3] In 2002, after finishing his formation, Sellés entered the University of Valencia and became a coach of the university's football team; he led the club to a promotion from the Segunda Regional in their first senior season, and kept the club in the Primera Regional in the following campaigns.[2]

At the start of the 2008–09 season, Sellés joined a host of compatriots at Greek side Aris Thessaloniki,[4] being an assistant fitness coach.[2] He departed in 2009 to perform a similar role for the Juvenil squad of Villarreal.[5]

In 2010, Sellés travelled to Russia, acting as assistant manager to Igor Lediakhov at Shinnik Yaroslavl.[6] He later worked as Óscar Fernández's assistant at Asteras Tripolis and Gandía,[7] before joining Neftçi; he remained an assistant manager there for two seasons, under managers Boyukagha Hajiyev, Arif Asadov, Nazim Suleymanov and Tarlan Ahmadov.

Sellés moved to Norwegian club Strømsgodset in 2015, working as Chief Data Analyst,[8] before returning to Azerbaijan as an assistant of Gurban Gurbanov at Qarabağ.[9] In July 2018, he joined Danish club Aarhus, assisting manager David Nielsen for two seasons.[8][10]

In July 2020, Sellés returned to his hometown after being appointed manager of Valencia's Juvenil B squad.[11] On 1 January 2021, he returned to Denmark and joined Copenhagen as assistant manager to Jess Thorup.[8]

Managerial career

Southampton

On 10 June 2022, Sellés departed Copenhagen to join Premier League club Southampton, as assistant to Ralph Hasenhüttl.[12] On 7 November, Hasenhüttl was sacked by Southampton, and Sellés was placed in caretaker charge of the club.[13] Sellés took charge of one match for The Saints before the appointment of new manager Nathan Jones, a 1–1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday in the EFL Cup on 9 November – in which Southampton advanced to the next round after a penalty shootout.[14]

He again took temporary charge of the team after Jones was sacked in February 2023.[15] His first game in charge was a 1–0 away victory over Chelsea.[16] On 24 February, Sellés was appointed manager until the end of the 2022–23 season.[17][18] On 24 May 2023, Southampton confirmed that they would not renew his contract when it expired at the end of the season.[19] On 28 May 2023, Sellés managed his final game at Southampton; a 4–4 draw against Liverpool on the final day of the 2022–23 Premier League season.[20] In his three months in charge, he oversaw the relegation of Southampton to the EFL Championship, having won just two games in 17 matches.[21]

Reading

On 26 June 2023, Reading announced an agreement with Sellés to become their new first team manager, subject to a successful work visa application.[22] On 14 July 2023, Reading confirmed the appointment of Spaniard as the club's first team manager after his visa application was successful.[23] His first professional game in charge was a 0–1 defeat to Peterborough; his first victory came in the following match when Reading beat Millwall 0–4 away in the EFL Cup.[24][25]

Hull City

On 6 December 2024, Sellés was announced as the new head coach of Hull City on a two-and-a-half year contract, with the option for a third, in the place of the dismissed Tim Walter. In his first match in charge, he drew 1–1 to Watford, before going on to seal a 2–1 victory over Swansea City on home turf, gaining the Tigers their first win in 14 matches. In their first FA Cup match under his leadership, they lost 1(4)–(5)1 to Doncaster Rovers, exiting in the competition’s third round.

Managerial statistics

As of match played 18 January 2025[26]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Southampton (caretaker) 7 November 2022 10 November 2022 1 0 1 0 000.00
Southampton 12 February 2023 28 May 2023 17 2 4 11 011.76
Reading 26 June 2023 6 December 2024 78 34 18 26 043.59
Hull City 6 December 2024 Present 9 3 3 3 033.33
Total 105 39 26 40 037.14

References

  1. ^ Cooper, Barry (6 December 2024). "Hull City appoint Ruben Selles as new boss after agreeing deal with Reading". Hull Live. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "VALENCIANOS POR EL MUNDO | Rubén Sellés: "El fútbol danés es muy atractivo en muchos aspectos"" [VALENCIANS THROUGH THE WORLD | Rubén Sellés: "The Danish football is very attractive in a lot of aspects"] (in Spanish). Golsmedia. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Feature Interview: Rubén Sellés". Southampton FC. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Ruben Selles interview: Southampton manager on how Scandinavian culture sculpted his house on the south coast". Sky Sports. 4 March 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  5. ^ Dawes, Olly (8 November 2022). "Report: Some agents expected Spaniard to quickly become Southampton manager". HITC. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  6. ^ Tanswell, Jacob (4 August 2022). "Ruben Selles: Hasenhuttl's new No 2". The Athletic. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Técnicos valencianos: Tú a Drammen y yo a Doha" [Valencian managers: You to Drammen and I to Doha] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Rubén Sellés becomes new assistant coach". F.C. København. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  9. ^ House, Alfie (13 June 2022). "New assistant Selles opens up on what to expect in Hasenhuttl pairing". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  10. ^ House, Alfie (14 June 2022). "Saints academy starlets can take confidence in 'love' of new coach". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  11. ^ "El entrenador que ha fichado la Academia del Valencia" [The manager who was signed by the Valencia Academy] (in Spanish). Super Deporte. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Sellés joins as First Team Lead Coach". Southampton FC. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Club statement: Ralph Hasenhüttl". Southampton FC. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  14. ^ Wyatt, Mark (10 November 2022). "Every word Ruben Selles said on EFL Cup win, Ralph Hasenhuttl and Nathan Jones". Hampshire Live. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Club Statement: Nathan Jones". Southampton FC. 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  16. ^ Howarth, Matthew (18 February 2023). "Chelsea 0–1 Southampton". BBC Sport.
  17. ^ "Southampton appoint Selles until end of season". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Sellés appointed to end of season". Southampton FC. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  19. ^ House, Alfie (24 May 2023). "Southampton confirm they will not renew Ruben Selles manager contract". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Liverpool FC — Jürgen Klopp assesses Southampton 4–4 Liverpool and season overall". www.liverpoolfc.com. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Rubén Sellés Southampton Manager Profile, Record & Stats | Premier League". www.premierleague.com. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  22. ^ "RUBÉN SELLÉS SET TO SIGN SUBJECT TO WORK VISA CLEARANCE". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  23. ^ "RUBÉN IS A ROYAL – SELLÉS SIGNS TO COMPLETE MOVE TO RG2". readingfc.co.uk/. Reading F.C. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  24. ^ "Reading 0–1 Peterborough". BBC Sport. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  25. ^ "Millwall 0–4 Reading". BBC Sport. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  26. ^ "Spain – Rubén Sellés – Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 November 2022.