Manuel Jiménez Jiménez

Manuel 'Manolo' Jiménez Jiménez ([maˈnolo xiˈmeneθ]; born 26 January 1964) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a left back, and the manager of Emirati club Al Wahda FC.

His career was intimately connected with Sevilla as both a player and manager, and he competed solely in La Liga with the club in the former capacity. He represented Spain at the 1990 World Cup.

As a coach, Jiménez also had three different spells at AEK Athens in the Super League Greece. Abroad, he also worked in Qatar with Al-Rayyan.

Playing career

Jiménez was born in Arahal, Province of Seville. He made his La Liga debut for Sevilla FC in 1983–84, and went on to make more than 400 competitive appearances over 14 seasons with his hometown club; he retired in June 1998 at the age of 34, after spending one year with neighbours Real Jaén in the second division.

Jiménez earned 15 caps for the Spain national team. He made his international debut on 12 October 1988 in a friendly match with Argentina played in Seville, and was selected for the 1990 FIFA World Cup squad, appearing against Uruguay in the group stage (0–0) and against Yugoslavia in the round of 16.

Coaching career

Sevilla

For seven seasons, Jiménez was the coach of Sevilla's reserves Sevilla Atlético, leading them to the second level in 2006–07. On 27 October 2007, following the resignation of Juande Ramos, he was appointed manager of the main squad, initially until the end of the campaign. He guided the Andalusians to fifth place, finishing third in 2008–09 with a subsequent return to the UEFA Champions League.

Jiménez took the team to the final of the Copa del Rey in 2010, notably beating Pep Guardiola's FC Barcelona in the last-16 stage on the away goals rule. On 24 March 2010, however, after a 1–1 home draw to bottom-placed Xerez CD, he was sacked following three draws – all at home – and two losses in the last five league games, also having been eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16.

AEK Athens

On 7 October 2010, Jiménez took over from the sacked Dušan Bajević at AEK Athens FC, agreeing to a two-year deal. Ten days later he led the team in his first game, a 4–0 Superleague Greece win at Aris Thessaloniki FC.

After losing in the UEFA Europa League against R.S.C. Anderlecht (0–3, away), Jiménez achieved his second league win, against Panathinaikos FC. The team eventually finished 21 points behind champions Olympiacos F.C. in third place in the league.

On 30 April 2011, Jiménez won his second trophy as a manager after a 3–0 defeat of Atromitos F.C. in the final of the Greek Cup. On 5 October, he left the club by mutual consent; he had been nicknamed "Papatzi" by local newspapers in a reference to the shell game, because of his frequent tactical changes.

Zaragoza

On 31 December 2011, Jiménez was appointed head coach of Real Zaragoza, replacing the fired Javier Aguirre. He was relieved of his duties at the end of the 2012–13 season, as the Aragonese were relegated to division two after four years.

Al-Rayyan

On 4 November 2013, Jiménez signed with Al-Rayyan SC. They were relegated from the Qatar Stars League at the end of his debut season, but achieved promotion the following year.

Jiménez's contract was terminated on 20 May 2015.

Return to AEK

Jiménez returned to AEK on 19 January 2017, succeeding José Morais who had resigned the previous day. He signed a contract until the end of the season, extendable by one year subject to satisfactory performance in domestic competitions. He oversaw the team's qualification to the group stage of a European competition on 24 August (after a six-year absence), following a 3–0 home win against Club Brugge KV in the Europa League play-off round.

At the end of the 2017–18 campaign, the club won the national championship for the first time in 24 years. He left the Olympic Stadium on 25 May 2018 at the end of his contract, however, after negotiations for its renewal proved unsuccessful.

Las Palmas

The same day, Jiménez agreed on a return to Spain and was appointed manager at UD Las Palmas, who had been relegated from the top tier the previous season. On 16 November, he was dismissed.

Later years

On 5 February 2019, Jiménez returned to AEK Athens for a third spell. In October, he switched to the UAE Pro League with Al Wahda FC.

Managerial statistics

As of match played 6 March 2020

Honours

Manager

Sevilla B

• Segunda División B: 2006–07

AEK

• Superleague Greece: 2017–18
• Greek Cup: 2010–11

Al Rayyan

• Qatargas League: 2014–15

Individual

• Superleague Greece Manager of the Year: 2017–18