José Manuel Esnal

Football player infobox| playername= Mané
fullname = José Manuel Esnal Pardo
nickname =


dateofbirth = March 25 1950
cityofbirth = Balmaseda, Basque Country
countryofbirth = Spain
currentclub = Unattached
manageryears = 1979-81
1980-81
1980-82
1982-84
1984-85
1985-87
1987-88
1988-95
1995-96
1996-97
1997-2003
2005-06
2006–2007
managerclubs = Balmaseda CF
Euskadi Youth XI
Barakaldo CF
Sestao SC
Deportivo Alavés
UE Figueres
Euskadi Youth XI
UE Lleida
RCD Mallorca
Levante UD
Deportivo Alavés
Levante UD
Athletic Bilbao|

José Manuel Esnal Pardo (born Balmaseda, Basque Country, Spain), , also referred to as Mané, is a Spanish Basque football manager. He is unattached, being her last club coached Athletic Bilbao when succeeded Félix Sarriugarte on November 29 2006. After coaching various Basque clubs during the early 1980s, Mané first found success with UE Figueres, winning promotion from Segunda División B. Since then he has managed several other clubs in La Liga and the Segunda División, most notably UE Lleida, Deportivo Alavés and Levante UD. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Mané guided UE Lleida from Segunda División B to La Liga. In 2001 he took Alavés to the UEFA Cup final and was awarded a Manager of the Year title by "Don Balón" . During the 2005-06 season he led Levante UD to promotion from the Segunda División.

UE Lleida

Mané joined UE Lleida in 1988 and took them from Segunda División B to La Liga. In 1990 they were Segunda División B champions and in 1993 they won the Segunda División. The following season, 1993-94, Mané make his debut as a La Liga coach. Despite a 1-0 win over the FC Barcelona "Dream Team" at the Camp Nou and a 2-1 win at the Camp d´Esports over Real Madrid, UE Lleida only managed to win five other games and were consequently relegated. The 1994-95 season saw UE Lleida finish third in the Segunda División but they then lost a promotion play-off against Sporting Gijón.

Deportivo Alavés

After uneventful spells at RCD Mallorca and Levante UD, Mané rejoined Deportivo Alavés in 1997. He had previously managed them during the 1984-85 season. In his first season back, he guided them to the Segunda División title in 1998. In the same year they also reached the Copa del Rey semi-finals, knocking out Real Madrid in the round of sixteen and Deportivo de La Coruña in the quarter-finals, before losing to RCD Mallorca. The 1998-99 season saw Alavés finish a disappointing sixteenth in La Liga, but in 2000, with a team including Julio Salinas, they finished an impressive sixth and qualified for the UEFA Cup. During the season they did the double over La Liga runners-up, FC Barcelona, and beat the eventual champions, Deportivo de La Coruña. They also beat both of the 2000 UEFA Champions League finalists, Real Madrid and Valencia CF.

In 2001 Alavés reached the UEFA Cup final. After beating Inter Milan and Rayo Vallecano in the earlier rounds, they then played Liverpool. Despite being 2-0 and then 3-1 down, Alavés embarked on a spirited comeback and an 88th minute goal from Jordi Cruyff took the game to 4-4. However an own goal in extra time saw Liverpool win 5-4. Under Mané, Alavés finished seventh in La Liga during the 2001-02 season and qualified for the UEFA Cup once again. However the following season Alavés struggled and were subsequently relegated and as a result Mané and Alavés parted ways.

Honours

UE Figueres
*Segunda División B
** "Promotion" 1985-86

UE Lleida
*Segunda División
** "Winners" 1992-93
** "Third": 1994-95
*Segunda División B
** "Winners" 1989-90
*"'Copa Catalunya
**"Runners-up" 1992, 1999
*Ciutat de Lleida Trophy: 2
**1992, 1994

Deportivo Alavés
*Segunda División
** "Winners" 1997-98
*UEFA Cup
** "Runners-Up" 2001

Levante UD
*Segunda División
** "Third and Promotion" 2005-06

External links

* [http://www.lfp.es/historico/primera/entrenadores/historial.asp?ent=367 La Liga manager stats]
* [http://www.lfp.es/historico/segunda/entrenadores/historial.asp?ent=017 Segunda División manager stats]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/spanpoy.html Manager of the Year 2000-01]
* [http://www.athletic-club.net/acc/home.asp?a=1&b=50&noticia=4873&idi=2 Bio at www.athletic-club.net]
* [http://www.futbol.com.ve/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=287 Career details]