 Herrera as manager ofCelta in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Herrera Lorenzo | ||
| Date of birth | (1953-12-02)2 December 1953 (age 72) | ||
| Place of birth | Barcelona, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1965–1972 | Damm | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1972–1974 | Sabadell | 64 | (5) |
| 1974–1977 | Sporting Gijón | 44 | (2) |
| 1977–1979 | Levante | ||
| 1979–1986 | Badajoz | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1992–1993 | Badajoz | ||
| 1995 | Badajoz | ||
| 1998 | Numancia | ||
| 1998–1999 | Mérida | ||
| 2000 | Numancia | ||
| 2001–2002 | Albacete | ||
| 2002–2003 | Poli Ejido | ||
| 2003 | Recreativo | ||
| 2004–2006 | Liverpool (assistant) | ||
| 2009 | Castellón | ||
| 2010 | Villarreal B | ||
| 2010–2013 | Celta | ||
| 2013–2014 | Zaragoza | ||
| 2014–2015 | Las Palmas | ||
| 2016–2017 | Valladolid | ||
| 2017 | Sporting Gijón | ||
| 2018 | Aris | ||
| 2018–2019 | Las Palmas | ||
| 2019–2020 | Birmingham City (assistant) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Francisco "Paco"Herrera Lorenzo (born 2 December 1953) is a Spanish retiredfootballer who played as amidfielder, and is amanager.
His managerial career spanning over a quarter of a century, was mostly spent inSegunda División, where he managed 13 clubs and achieved promotion toLa Liga withCelta andLas Palmas.
Born inBarcelona,Catalonia, Herrera began his professional career withSabadell in his native region, appearing in twoSegunda División seasons with the team. In 1974, the 20-year-old signed withSporting Gijón inLa Liga,suffering relegation in his second year.
In 1986, after a two-season spell withLevante, Herrera retired from football with Badajoz, at the age of 32, having played mainly for theExtremadurans inSegunda División B, the new third level created in 1977.
Herrera was connected to his last club, Badajoz, for several years as a manager, first coaching its youth sides and later acting as assistant. He would manage the first team in 24 games in two separate second division campaigns (18 in1992–93 and six in1994–95).
During three seasons, Herrera then worked in the second level, withNumancia andMérida, the only complete one being1998–99. He was sacked by the latter in late November 1999, following a 1–3 loss at former club Levante; the team eventuallyranked sixth, being however demoted due to financial irregularities.
After two seasons in division two, withAlbacete andPoli Ejido (finishing intenth and13th position respectively), Herrera was appointed atRecreativo in the same tier, being fired on 9 November 2003 after a 0–2 home loss againstAndalusia neighboursCórdoba – the team had collected seven draws in 11 matches (plus two wins and as many losses). In the summer of 2004, he joined countrymanRafael Benítez's coaching staff inLiverpool, working as both assistant manager and chiefscout for two years.[1]
Herrera left England in June 2006 and returned to his country, serving asdirector of football atEspanyol for three seasons.[2] He left the club in February 2009 to manageCastellón, replacingAtlético Madrid-boundAbel Resino for the final 21 games ofthe campaign and leading theValencians to the seventh place in the second division.
On 4 February 2010, Herrera replacedJuan Carlos Garrido at the helm ofVillarreal'sreserves, also in the second division, as Garrido had been promoted to the main squad following the sacking ofErnesto Valverde. In the2010–11 season, he continued working in level two withCelta, leading them to thepromotion play-offs where they lost in the semi-finals againstGranada, onpenalties.
Herrera was also in charge as theGalicians returned to the top flight at the end of the2011–12 season, as runners-up. He was relieved of his duties on 18 February 2013 after a 1–3 away loss againstGetafe, however, with the club ranking third from bottom[3] buteventually saved.
Herrera was appointed atLas Palmas in the second division, on 3 July 2014.[4] He achieved promotion inhis first season, with the team returning tothe top tier after 13 years.
On 19 October 2015, after a 0–4 defeat atGetafe that left theCanarians ranking second from the bottom, Herrera was sacked and replaced byQuique Setién.[5] On 7 June of the following year, he was namedReal Valladolid manager.[6]
On 15 June 2017, Herrera was hired as Sporting Gijón coach after agreeing to a two-year contract.[7][8] He was sacked on 12 December, after a streak of six matches without wins in the second level.[9]
Herrera returned to active on 31 May 2018, being appointed atAris in theSuperleague Greece.[10] On 5 November, after four consecutive league defeats, his contract was terminated by mutual consent.[11]
On 16 November 2018, Herrera returned to Las Palmas after three years, replacing sackedManolo Jiménez.[12] On 4 March 2019, he was himself dismissed after only winning three of 14 league games.[13]
On 6 July 2019, Herrera joined the coaching staff atBirmingham City, becoming assistant head coach toPep Clotet.[14]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Badajoz |  | 27 January 1992 | 18 January 1993 | 44 | 23 | 9 | 12 | 64 | 36 | +28 | 052.27 | [15] |
| Badajoz | | 7 May 1995 | 30 June 1995 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 033.33 | [16] |
| Numancia | | 23 February 1998 | 30 June 1998 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 028.57 | [17] |
| Mérida | | 30 June 1998 | 22 November 1999 | 60 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 66 | 60 | +6 | 033.33 | [18] |
| Numancia | | 1 July 2000 | 27 November 2000 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 21 | −8 | 025.00 | [19] |
| Albacete | | 20 June 2001 | 5 June 2002 | 44 | 16 | 11 | 17 | 45 | 45 | +0 | 036.36 | [20] |
| Poli Ejido | | 5 June 2002 | 30 June 2003 | 43 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 36 | 46 | −10 | 027.91 | [21] |
| Recreativo | | 30 June 2003 | 9 November 2003 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 016.67 | [22] |
| Castellón | | 1 February 2009 | 30 June 2009 | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 19 | +5 | 045.00 | [23] |
| Villarreal B | | 4 February 2010 | 20 June 2010 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 27 | 27 | +0 | 031.58 | [24] |
| Celta | | 20 June 2010 | 18 February 2013 | 119 | 53 | 29 | 37 | 183 | 127 | +56 | 044.54 | [25] |
| Zaragoza | | 19 June 2013 | 17 March 2014 | 31 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 36 | 39 | −3 | 032.26 | [26] |
| Las Palmas | | 4 July 2014 | 19 October 2015 | 58 | 27 | 16 | 15 | 90 | 68 | +22 | 046.55 | [27] |
| Valladolid | | 7 June 2016 | 12 June 2017 | 46 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 59 | 53 | +6 | 043.48 | [28] |
| Sporting Gijón | | 15 June 2017 | 12 December 2017 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 035.00 | [29] |
| Aris |  | 31 May 2018 | 5 November 2018 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 045.45 | |
| Las Palmas | | 16 November 2018 | 4 March 2019 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 18 | −5 | 021.43 | [30] |
| Total | 573 | 222 | 165 | 186 | 722 | 618 | +104 | 038.74 | — | |||