 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Julio Velázquez Santiago | ||
| Date of birth | (1981-10-05)5 October 1981 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Salamanca, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Levski Sofia (manager) | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1997–2000 | San Nicolás (youth) | ||
| 2000–2002 | Sur (youth) | ||
| 2002–2003 | Betis Valladolid (youth) | ||
| 2003–2004 | Laguna (youth) | ||
| 2004–2005 | Peña Respuela | ||
| 2006–2007 | Arandina | ||
| 2007–2008 | Atlético Villacarlos | ||
| 2008–2009 | Poli Ejido (youth) | ||
| 2009–2010 | Valladolid (youth) | ||
| 2010 | Valladolid B | ||
| 2010–2011 | Poli Ejido | ||
| 2011 | Villarreal C | ||
| 2011–2012 | Villarreal B | ||
| 2012–2013 | Villarreal | ||
| 2013–2014 | Murcia | ||
| 2014 | Betis | ||
| 2015–2016 | Belenenses | ||
| 2016–2018 | Alcorcón | ||
| 2018 | Udinese | ||
| 2019–2020 | Vitória Setúbal | ||
| 2021 | Marítimo | ||
| 2022 | Alavés | ||
| 2022–2023 | Fortuna Sittard | ||
| 2023–2024 | Zaragoza | ||
| 2025– | Levski Sofia | ||
Julio Velázquez Santiago (born 5 October 1981) is a Spanishfootballmanager, currently in charge ofBulgarian First League clubLevski Sofia.
He began coaching at 15, and was the youngest everSegunda División manager withVillarreal B at 30. He managed four other teams in that league, andAlavés inLa Liga.
Abroad, Velázquez spent several years in Portugal'sPrimeira Liga withBelenenses,Vitória de Setúbal andMarítimo. He also had a brief spell in the ItalianSerie A atUdinese, and the DutchEredivisie withFortuna Sittard.
Velázquez started training at the age of only 15, being in charge of youth teams in his hometown ofSalamanca.[1] His first job as a senior came in 2004, with AD Peña Respuela in the regional leagues.[2]
Velázquez made his debut in the national leagues in2010–11, being appointed atPolideportivo Ejido in theSegunda División B. He resigned in March, days aftersporting directorEnrique Burgos,[3] and theAndalusians eventually finished 14th.
Velázquez then joinedVillarreal CF's setup, first being in charge of theC side. On 24 December 2011, asJosé Francisco Molina leftthe reserves for the main squad, he was appointed his successor, thus becoming the youngest person ever to coach a club in theSegunda División, aged 30 years and two months.[4]
On 13 June 2012, following the Yellow Submarine'stop-flight relegation – which meant the B's also had to drop down a tier even though theyfinished in 12th position in division two – Velázquez was named first-team manager.[5] On 13 January of the following year, following a 1–1 away draw againstUD Almería, he was relieved of his duties.[6]
In the following years, Velázquez continued to work in the second division,being relegated withReal Murcia CF even though the side finished in fourth position and qualified for the play-offs,[7] and being sacked byReal Betis after only five months in charge.[8][9] During roughly ten months and starting in December 2015, he was in charge ofC.F. Os Belenenses in the PortuguesePrimeira Liga.[10][11]
Velázquez returned to his country and its second tier on 13 October 2016, signing withAD Alcorcón.[12] He eventually managed to steer themout of the relegation zone and also oustedRCD Espanyol inthe fourth round of theCopa del Rey, renewing his contract a two further years after the latter achievement.[13]
On 4 June 2018, after narrowlyavoiding relegation, Velázquez left Alcorcón.[14] From June–November of the same year he was in charge ofUdinese Calcio of the ItalianSerie A, being dismissed after only two league wins.[15]
Velázquez returned to the Portuguese top flight in November 2019, being appointed atVitória F.C. until the end ofthe season.[16] He left by mutual consent the following 2 July, with the team three points above the relegation zone having not won any of the five games since the resumption of play following theCOVID-19 break.[17]
On 11 March 2021, Velázquez becameC.S. Marítimo's third manager ofthe campaign at the last-placed side.[18][19] His first match in charge was the following day, a 2–1 away win overC.D. Nacional in theMadeira derby.[20]
Velázquez was relieved of his duties on 11 November 2021, with his team second-bottom after 11 rounds.[21]
Velázquez first reached his country'sLa Liga in April 2022, when he becameDeportivo Alavés' third coach ofthe season afterJavier Calleja andJosé Luis Mendilibar.[22] One month later, after relegation as last, he left.[23]
On 9 September 2022, Velázquez signed a one-year deal withFortuna Sittard, bottom in the DutchEredivisie.[24] He led them to their first victory ofthe campaign eight days later, 1–0 againstExcelsior Rotterdam in spite of playing 15 minutes with one player less.[25] He was released at the end of his contract, having finished 13th.[26]
On 20 November 2023, Velázquez replaced sackedFran Escribá at the helm ofReal Zaragoza, back in his country's second division.[27] He was dismissed the following 11 March.[28]
On 5 January 2025, Velázquez became head coach ofPFC Levski Sofia in the BulgarianFirst League on a contract until June 2026.[29]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Valladolid B |  | 1 February 2010 | 25 May 2010 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 42 | 22 | +20 | 061.11 |
| Poli Ejido | | 25 May 2010 | 15 March 2011 | 33 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 36 | 44 | −8 | 033.33 |
| Villarreal C | | 1 July 2011 | 22 December 2011 | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 36 | 31 | +5 | 042.86 |
| Villarreal B | | 22 December 2011 | 13 June 2012 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 28 | 32 | −4 | 041.67 |
| Villarreal | | 13 June 2012 | 13 January 2013 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 036.36 |
| Murcia | | 10 July 2013 | 16 June 2014 | 45 | 16 | 18 | 11 | 56 | 48 | +8 | 035.56 |
| Betis | | 16 June 2014 | 24 November 2014 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 19 | +3 | 043.75 |
| Belenenses |  | 17 December 2015 | 6 October 2016 | 31 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 41 | 47 | −6 | 032.26 |
| Alcorcón | | 13 October 2016 | 4 June 2018 | 82 | 24 | 28 | 30 | 71 | 85 | −14 | 029.27 |
| Udinese |  | 7 June 2018 | 13 November 2018 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 20 | −8 | 015.38 |
| Vitória Setúbal | | 11 November 2019 | 2 July 2020 | 21 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 38 | −17 | 019.05 |
| Marítimo | | 11 March 2021 | 11 November 2021 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 20 | 35 | −15 | 024.00 |
| Alavés | | 5 April 2022 | 23 May 2022 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 13 | −6 | 037.50 |
| Fortuna Sittard |  | 12 September 2022 | 28 May 2023 | 28 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 31 | 44 | −13 | 035.71 |
| Zaragoza | | 20 November 2023 | 11 March 2024 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 021.43 |
| Levski Sofia |  | 5 January 2025 | Present | 43 | 23 | 13 | 7 | 70 | 33 | +37 | 053.49 |
| Total | 444 | 157 | 130 | 157 | 530 | 544 | −14 | 035.36 | |||