FLORES NAMED NEW ATHLETIC BOSS
Quique Flores is set to make his return to Spanish football after being announced the new Athletic Bilbao head coach. This job opportunity arose after the resignation of previous head coach Ernesto Valverde following a fall-out with the board. Flores will be looking forward to his return to Spain after a reigns at Getafe, Valencia and Atlético Madrid.
Current club President, Jose Urrutia, has been quick to announce the man to take the vacant Head Coach spot at San Mamés. Quique Flores is a surprise appointment, however there is an air of optimism around Bilbao. Flores had managed three teams in Spain before so he certainly knows the league. He has spoke passionately about his return to Spain and La Liga, stating that he wants to put his name on a historic club.
"Bilbao are a fantastic club and I can't wait to go back to Spain," opened Flores at his unveiling. "As soon as Jose rang me I knew that I wanted the job. I want to come back and make my mark on this club, they have a lot of history and I want to bring glory back to them. I believe in my ability and that off my players, together we can achieve greatness."
Playing Career
Quique Flores played 272 games at right-back for Valencia and represented the Spanish national team on 15 occasions, including being selected for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. After Valencia Flores moved on to Real Madrid in 1994 where he helped the 'Galácticos' secure a La Liga title. A brief spell at Real Zaragoza followed before he officially retired in 1997 and took up management.
Stepping up into Management
Flores started his managerial career by managing Real Madrid youth teams in the lower leagues, of where he began to win plaudits for his managerial style. After 3 seasons at Real he moved across Madrid to manage newly promoted Getafe. Flores managed to guide the club to a good mid-table position in his first season and consolidated their place in La Liga.
Return to Valencia
In 2005, Flores was handed the opportunity return to former club Valencia. In his first season he managed to help the club finish Third and qualify for the next seasons UEFA Champions League, of which they managed to reach the Quarter-Finals after being knocked out by eventual runners-up Chelsea. In the next season he managed to qualify for the Champions League for a second year, however this time the Catalan club finished 4th.
Benfica and Atletico
On 29 October 2007, Valencia sacked Flores after a string of average results. Seven months later he was appointed head coach at Benfica. Flores only had one season as head coach at the Estádio da Luz and managed to win the Taça da Liga and finished 3rd in the league. After terminating his contract Flores moved on to Atlético Madrid in 2009. He lead the team to a slightly disappointing ninth place finish, however he managed to guide the team to Europa League victory with a 2-1 win over Fulham in the final and came runners-up in the Copa del Rey. After clashes with star man Diego Forlan, he decided to depart the Vicente Calderón in 2011.
Asian Adventure
Flores was named head coach at Al Ahli in the UAE Pro-League the next season and guided the team to win the Emirates Cup in 2012 and the President's Cup in 2013 before moving to Al Ain. Flores won the President's Cup for the second time in his career earlier this year before he was fired after poor results.
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