Llorenç Serra Ferrer
Encyclopedia
Lorenzo Serra Ferrer is a Spanish
football coach
.
His career was mainly associated with RCD Mallorca
and Real Betis
, and he also served the former in various other capacities.
, Majorca, Balearic Islands
, Serra Ferrer played three years with local amateurs UD Poblense
, in the fourth division
, retiring from football at only 23.
in his second and final season.
, spending two years with the B team
- in the 1983–84 season, he also coached the main squad in one game, as an interim manager.
With the Balearic Islands
side, Ferrer twice promoted to La Liga
, in 1986 and 1989, also reaching the Copa del Rey
final in 1991, losing 0–1 to Atlético Madrid.
in division two
, immediately leading them to promotion, then achieving a third place in the following season, only trailing champions Real Madrid
and Deportivo de La Coruña
, whilst posting the best defensive record in the league (25 goals in 38 matches) and qualifying to the UEFA Cup.
In 1997, Ferrer led Betis to the domestic cup final (a 2–3 overtime
loss against FC Barcelona
), after once again qualifying the Andalusia
ns for European competitions with a fourth-place finish in the league.
Louis van Gaal
's successor after his dismissal, he coached the team until the 31st matchday, being fired after a 1–3 loss at CA Osasuna
, with the Catalans
in the fifth position, trailing leaders Real Madrid by 17 points; he was replaced by former club legend Carles Rexach.
In 2004, Serra Ferrer returned to Betis, leading the team to another top-four league finish
- with the subsequent UEFA Champions League
qualification, a first-ever - as well as winning the season's Spanish Cup; in the following season
, Betis only managed to rank 14th in the league, also being ousted in the Champions League group stage, in spite of a 1–0 home win against Chelsea
.
, in the summer of 2006. In his first season, he led the capital
club to the second place in the domestic league, as the team also achieved its first Champions League wins, against Lille OSC
and A.C. Milan
, being eventually ousted in the group stage.
In late May 2007, Serra Ferrer signed a four-year extension to his contract, which was to expire at the end of 2007–08. On August 13, as AEK was drawn against Sevilla FC
in the Champions League third qualifying round, he stated: "The tie (vs Sevilla) will be intensely emotional for me", adding "I will return to a city I love very dearly." The Spaniards eventually won it 6–1 on aggregate.
On 12 February 2008, Ferrer was fired by AEK, after an early exit in the Greek Cup
, and a poor league run that saw the club drop from first to third in the space of a week.
2 million. On 9 July, he was named the club's vice president
and director of football
. The Spanish club were in the process of going into voluntary administration, as it tried to sort out debts of up to €85 millions.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
football coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
.
His career was mainly associated with RCD Mallorca
RCD Mallorca
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca is a Spanish football team based on Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, the team currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at Son Moix....
and Real Betis
Real Betis
Real Betis Balompié S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 12 September 1907, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadio Benito Villamarín....
, and he also served the former in various other capacities.
Playing career
Born in Sa PoblaSa Pobla
Sa Pobla is a small municipality in the district of Raiguer on Majorca, one of the Spanish Balearic Islands. It is a terminus on the Majorca rail network....
, Majorca, Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
, Serra Ferrer played three years with local amateurs UD Poblense
UD Poblense
Unión Deportiva Poblense is a Spanish football team based in Sa Pobla, Majorca, in the autonomous community of Balearic Islands. Founded in 1935, it plays in Tercera División - Group 11, holding home games at Nou Camp de Sa Pobla, with a 8,000-seat capacity.Team colours are shirt with blue and red...
, in the fourth division
Tercera División
Tercera División is the fourth level of the Spanish football league system. The top three are the Primera División, often referred to as "La Liga" in English, the Segunda División, and Segunda División B.-Current Format:...
, retiring from football at only 23.
Early years
After coaching youth team La Salle, Ferrer joined his only club as a player in 1980. After two national championships, he led them to a first ever promotion to the third divisionSegunda División B
Segunda División B is the third level of the Spanish football league system. It is administered by the RFEF. The top two levels are La Liga, also referred to as the Primera División, and the Segunda División. Immediately below Segunda División B is the Tercera Division...
in his second and final season.
Mallorca
In 1983, Serra Ferrer signed for another club in the region, RCD MallorcaRCD Mallorca
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca is a Spanish football team based on Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, the team currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at Son Moix....
, spending two years with the B team
RCD Mallorca B
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca B, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Palma, Majorca, in the autonomous community of Balearic Islands. Founded in 1967, it is the reserve team of RCD Mallorca, and plays in Segunda División B – Group 3, holding home matches at Estadio Son Bibiloni, with a...
- in the 1983–84 season, he also coached the main squad in one game, as an interim manager.
With the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
side, Ferrer twice promoted to La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
, in 1986 and 1989, also reaching the Copa del Rey
Copa del Rey
The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
final in 1991, losing 0–1 to Atlético Madrid.
Betis
After eight full seasons with Mallorca, Serra Ferrer joined Real BetisReal Betis
Real Betis Balompié S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 12 September 1907, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadio Benito Villamarín....
in division two
Segunda División
The Segunda División is the lower tier of the two professional football leagues in Spain. From the season 2008-09 onwards, the name of the league is Liga Adelante.-History:...
, immediately leading them to promotion, then achieving a third place in the following season, only trailing champions Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
and Deportivo de La Coruña
Deportivo de La Coruña
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in Segunda División...
, whilst posting the best defensive record in the league (25 goals in 38 matches) and qualifying to the UEFA Cup.
In 1997, Ferrer led Betis to the domestic cup final (a 2–3 overtime
Overtime (sports)
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...
loss against FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
), after once again qualifying the Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
ns for European competitions with a fourth-place finish in the league.
Barcelona / Betis return
After the Spanish Cup final, Ferrer moved to Barcelona, but spent three years working in directorial capacities. In the 2000–01 season, after being named DutchNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Louis van Gaal
Louis van Gaal
Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal OON is a Dutch football manager formerly in charge of Ajax, Netherlands, Barcelona, AZ and Bayern Munich...
's successor after his dismissal, he coached the team until the 31st matchday, being fired after a 1–3 loss at CA Osasuna
CA Osasuna
Club Atlético Osasuna, known as Osasuna, is a Spanish football team based in Iruñea-Pamplona, in the autonomous community of Navarre.Founded in 1920, it currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at the 19,553-capacity Estadio Reyno de Navarra...
, with the Catalans
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
in the fifth position, trailing leaders Real Madrid by 17 points; he was replaced by former club legend Carles Rexach.
In 2004, Serra Ferrer returned to Betis, leading the team to another top-four league finish
2004–05 La Liga
2004–05 season was composed of the following clubs:* Albacete Balompié* Athletic Bilbao* Atlético Madrid* FC Barcelona* Real Betis* Deportivo de La Coruña* Espanyol* Getafe CF* Levante UD* Málaga CF* Real Mallorca* CD Numancia* CA Osasuna...
- with the subsequent UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
qualification, a first-ever - as well as winning the season's Spanish Cup; in the following season
2005–06 La Liga
* Athletic Bilbao* Atlético Madrid* FC Barcelona* Betis* Cádiz CF* Celta de Vigo* Deportivo Alaves* Deportivo de La Coruña* Espanyol* Getafe CF* Málaga CF* RCD Mallorca* CA Osasuna* Racing de Santander* Real Madrid* Real Sociedad* Sevilla FC...
, Betis only managed to rank 14th in the league, also being ousted in the Champions League group stage, in spite of a 1–0 home win against Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
.
AEK Athens
Ferrer joined AEK Athens F.C. of GreeceGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, in the summer of 2006. In his first season, he led the capital
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
club to the second place in the domestic league, as the team also achieved its first Champions League wins, against Lille OSC
Lille OSC
LOSC Lille Métropole is a French association football club based in Lille. The club was founded in 1944 as a result of a merger and currently play in Ligue 1, the first division of French football. Lille plays its home matches at the Stade Lille-Metropole in nearby Villeneuve-d'Ascq. In 2012, the...
and A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, being eventually ousted in the group stage.
In late May 2007, Serra Ferrer signed a four-year extension to his contract, which was to expire at the end of 2007–08. On August 13, as AEK was drawn against Sevilla FC
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, Spain that plays in the Spanish La Liga championship.They are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football having won a 1 La Liga title, 5 Spanish "Copa del Rey" Cups, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 2 UEFA...
in the Champions League third qualifying round, he stated: "The tie (vs Sevilla) will be intensely emotional for me", adding "I will return to a city I love very dearly." The Spaniards eventually won it 6–1 on aggregate.
On 12 February 2008, Ferrer was fired by AEK, after an early exit in the Greek Cup
Greek football Cup
The Greek Football Cup , commonly known as the Greek Cup or for sponsorship reasons the Football Cup OPAP, is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation....
, and a poor league run that saw the club drop from first to third in the space of a week.
Mallorca return
On 29 June 2010, a group headed by Ferrer became the new owner of Mallorca, taking over from main shareholder Mateu Alemany for a fee believed to be around €Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
2 million. On 9 July, he was named the club's vice president
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
and director of football
Director of football
"Director of football" is a term describing a senior management figure at a football club, most commonly used in Europe. The exact nature of the role is often unclear and extremely variable and causes much debate in the sports media...
. The Spanish club were in the process of going into voluntary administration, as it tried to sort out debts of up to €85 millions.
Honours
- PoblenseUD PoblenseUnión Deportiva Poblense is a Spanish football team based in Sa Pobla, Majorca, in the autonomous community of Balearic Islands. Founded in 1935, it plays in Tercera División - Group 11, holding home games at Nou Camp de Sa Pobla, with a 8,000-seat capacity.Team colours are shirt with blue and red...
:- Fourth DivisionTercera DivisiónTercera División is the fourth level of the Spanish football league system. The top three are the Primera División, often referred to as "La Liga" in English, the Segunda División, and Segunda División B.-Current Format:...
: 1980–81, 1981–82
- Fourth Division
- BetisReal BetisReal Betis Balompié S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 12 September 1907, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadio Benito Villamarín....
:- Spanish CupCopa del ReyThe Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
: 2004–05; Runner-up 1996–97
- Spanish Cup
- MallorcaRCD MallorcaReal Club Deportivo Mallorca is a Spanish football team based on Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, the team currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at Son Moix....
:- Spanish CupCopa del ReyThe Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
: Runner-up 1990–91
- Spanish Cup