| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pere Gratacós Boix | ||
| Date of birth | (1958-02-14)14 February 1958 (age 67) | ||
| Place of birth | Besalú, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft11+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Besalú | |||
| 1974–1976 | Barcelona | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1978 | Barcelona C | ||
| 1978–1983 | Barcelona B | 138 | (3) |
| 1979–1980 | →Valladolid (loan) | 14 | (1) |
| 1983–1985 | Osasuna | 2 | (0) |
| 1985–1993 | Figueres | 244 | (5) |
| Total | 398 | (9) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1995 | Figueres (interim) | ||
| 1995–1997 | AE Roses | ||
| 1997–1999 | Girona | ||
| 2001–2003 | Figueres | ||
| 2003–2005 | Barcelona B | ||
| 2005–2009 | Catalonia | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Pere Gratacós Boix (born 14 February 1958) is a Spanish retiredfootballcentral defender andmanager.
Born inBesalú,Girona,Catalonia, Gratacós arrived atFC Barcelona's youth system in 1974 at the age of 16, going to play for several of its youth teams. He made his professional debut withReal Valladolid in the1979–80 season, on loan, helping to aSegunda División promotion[1] and returning to spend a further three years withBarça'sreserves, where he was awardedteam captaincy.[2]
Gratacós appeared in five official games with Barcelona's first team, but never inLa Liga, leaving in 1983 and joining fellow top-division clubCA Osasuna, only making two appearances in hisfirst year in the top flight and none whatsoever inthe second.[3] In the 1985 off-season, he returned to his native region and signed forUE Figueres ofSegunda División B,[4] helping to animmediate promotion to the second tier.
Gratacós was first-choice for Figueres during his eight-year spell, when healthy – he started in all but seven of the league matches he appeared in. Aftersuffering relegation in 1993, he retired from football aged 35.
Gratacós started coaching one year after retiring, although he had already worked with Figueres in directorial capacities.[5] After a brief spell as aninterim manager, he was in charge of two amateur teams – also in Catalonia – for four and a half seasons, returning to his main club in 2001 and making history as it became the first in division three toreach the semi-finals of theCopa del Rey, eventually losing 2–1 on aggregate againstDeportivo de La Coruña after previously ousting, amongst others, Barcelona and Osasuna.[6]
Gratacós returned to Barcelona's reserves in 2003, leading them to two midtable finishes in the third tier.[7] Subsequently, he coached theCatalonia national side in sixfriendlies.[8][9][10]
In January 2010, Gratacós returned to Barcelona, being appointed director of its training ground and academyCiutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.[11] On 13 January 2017, he was sacked after he said ofLionel Messi: "WithoutIniesta,Neymar and the others, he wouldn't be such a good player".[12]