Quick Facts
Biography
Luis Milla Aspas (born 12 March 1966) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and the current coach of Indonesia.
He represented three clubs – including both Barcelona and Real Madrid – during a 16-year-professional career, where he won three La Liga titles (one with the former and two with the latter) and amassed totals of 338 games and 11 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, Aragon. After finishing his football formation with FC Barcelona he made his La Liga debuts in 1984–85, scoring in his only appearance of the season, against Real Zaragoza, as Barça pitched in a team majorly composed of youth players due to a general professional's strike.
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, which eventually finished with his free transfer to Real Madrid. He was seriously injured in his debut campaign, but bounced to back to be an important first-team element in the conquest of two leagues and one Copa del Rey, being fairly used even after the 1994 purchase of Fernando Redondo.
Milla finished his career in June 2001 after four years at Valencia CF, with more than 400 official appearances as a professional. During a three-month period beginning in late 1989, he earned himself three caps for the Spain national team, the first against Hungary in a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
Coaching career
Milla was first involved in professional coaching in 2007–08, assisting former Barcelona and Madrid teammate Michael Laudrup at Getafe CF. In the ensuing summer he was named the national under-19's manager, after Vicente del Bosque's appointment as the senior manager.
In his first tournament, the 2009 UEFA European championship, the team did not progress through the group stage. In the 2010 edition in France, however, he led Spain to the final, which ended in defeat to the hosts.
Later in the same year, Milla replaced Juan Ramón López Caro 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 in a two-legged play-off.
In the final stages in Denmark, Milla led the Spanish under-21s to their third title, after only conceding two goals in five games (four wins and only one draw). He was sacked after his team failed to qualify from the group phase at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
In February 2013, Milla was appointed at UAE Pro League's Al Jazira Club. His first match in charge was a 1–3 loss to Tractor Sazi F.C. for the season's AFC Champions League.
Milla returned to Spain in the 2015 off-season, signing as Segunda División club's CD Lugo head coach and resigning in late February 2016 in unclear circumstances. In the following season, in the same capacity, he joined Zaragoza also in that level, being sacked after only four months in charge and six matches without a win.
On 21 January 2017, Milla succeeded Alfred Riedl at the helm of the Indonesia national team by signing a two-year contract.
Honours
Player
- Barcelona
- La Liga: 1984–85
- Copa del Rey: 1989–90
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1988–89
- Real Madrid
- La Liga: 1994–95, 1996–97
- Copa del Rey: 1992–93
- Supercopa de España: 1993
- Valencia
- Copa del Rey: 1998–99
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998
- UEFA Champions League: Runner-up 1999–2000, 2000–01
Manager
- Spain U21
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2011
- Spain U20
- Mediterranean Games: 2009
- Spain U19
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship: Runner-up 2010
- Indonesia U23
- 2017 Southeast Asian Games: Third place 2017