Martí Cifuentes

Spanish association football manager (born 1982)

Martí Cifuentes
Personal information
Full name Martí Cifuentes Corvillo
Date of birth (1982-07-07) 7 July 1982 (age 41)
Place of birth Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain
Team information
Current team
 Queens Park Rangers (head coach)
Youth career
Sant Cugat
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Mirasol-Baco
2009–2010 Sant Quirze
Managerial career
2002–2007 Sabadell (youth)
2006 Sabadell (assistant)
2007–2008 Terrassa (youth)
2010–2013 Rubí (youth)
2011–2013 Rubí (assistant)
2013–2014 Rubí
2014 Sant Andreu
2015–2016 Hospitalet
2018–2020 Sandefjord
2021–2022 AaB
2022–2023 Hammarby IF
2023– Queens Park Rangers
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Martí Cifuentes Corvillo (Spanish pronunciation: [maɾˈti θiˈfwen.tes koɾˈβi.ʎo]; born 7 July 1982)[1] is a Spanish football coach who is the head coach of EFL Championship club Queens Park Rangers.

Early life

Born in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, Cifuentes only played amateur football during his entire career. After being a Sant Cugat FC youth graduate, he represented CFU Mirasol-Baco and UE Sant Quirze Besora before focusing solely on managing; during an interview to La Vanguardia, he described himself as a "mediocre" player.[2]

Career

Early career

Cifuentes began his career with the youth sides of Sabadell before becoming an assistant of Manolo Fernández in the first team in 2006.[3] He subsequently worked at Terrassa[4] before having short spells in the youth departments of Ajax and Millwall between 2008 and 2009.[5][6]

Cifuentes joined Rubí in 2010, as manager of the Juvenil squad, before being appointed manager of the first team in Tercera División on 29 May 2013.[7] On 12 February 2014, he left the club to take over Segunda División B side Sant Andreu, replacing Patxi Salinas.[8]

After managing to avoid relegation with the Quadribarrats, Cifuentes was confirmed as manager of the club for the 2014–15 season on 21 May 2014,[9] but was dismissed in August.[10] On 18 May 2015, he was named Hospitalet manager, with the club also in the third division.[11]

Sacked by Hospi on 29 March 2016,[12] Cifuentes moved to Sweden in April 2017, after being named in charge of AIK's reserve team and academy.[13][14]

Sandefjord

On 31 May 2018, Cifuentes was announced as Sandefjord's new head coach on a contract that would keep him at the club until the end of the 2020 season.[15][14] He took over mid-season a team that had gained only five points in their first twelve games in the 2019 season. The results improved during the rest of the season, but Sandefjord was relegated from Eliteserien on 11 November with one game to spare, although they lost only six of 18 games after Cifuentes took over.[16]

In the following 2019 season, Cifuentes' first full season in charge, Sandefjord finished the 1. divisjon in second place and were promoted back to Eliteserien.[17] In 2020, Sandefjord finished in eleventh place in the top tier, eight points clear of the relegation zone, the club's best result in eleven years.[5]

AaB

On 28 December 2020, Cifuentes was announced as AaB's new head coach from 1 January 2021 on a contract that would keep him at the club till summer of 2023.[18] He led the club in 37 Danish Superliga fixtures, averaging 1.51 points per game. When he left the club halfway through the 2021–22 campaign, AaB was placed fourth in the table after 17 rounds.[19]

Hammarby IF

On 12 January 2022, Cifuentes was appointed as the new head coach of Hammarby IF. He signed a three-year deal with the Swedish club, after they had activated a release clause in his contract with AaB.[20][21] The transfer officially came to effect on 24 January, after further negotiations between the two clubs regarding his notice period at AaB.[22]

Cifuentes had a strong opening to the 2022 season, leading the side to five straight league wins, awarding him Allsvenskan Manager of the Month in April.[23] The club also reached the final of the 2021–22 Svenska Cupen, but lost by 4–5 on penalties to Malmö after the game ended in a 0–0 draw.[24][25] In August, Cifuentes won the award Allsvenskan Manager of the Month for the second time during the season.[26] Eventually, Hammarby finished third in the table, thus qualifying for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League.[27]

In 2023, Hammarby had a tough first half of the season, being placed eighth in the Allsvenskan table after 15 rounds.[28] The side eventually picked up form and only lost one out of 12 league games between round 17 and 28.[29] In the second qualifying round of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League, Hammarby lost 1–2 on aggregate, after extra time, to Dutch Eredivisie club Twente.[30] On 30 October 2023, with two fixtures left of the season, he left the club with immediate effect, after Hammarby had reached an agreement with Queens Park Rangers for his transfer.[31]

Queens Park Rangers

On 30 October 2023, it was announced that Cifuentes had been appointed the new head coach of EFL Championship side Queens Park Rangers.[32][33] On 26 April 2024, his QPR side kept their Championship status after a 4–0 defeat of Leeds United, which ultimately sealed Leicester City's promotion to the Premier League after a year's absence from the top-flight.[34]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 4 May 2024[35]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Rubí 1 July 2013 12 February 2014 24 14 4 6 058.33
Sant Andreu 12 February 2014 10 July 2014 13 5 2 6 038.46
L'Hospitalet 18 May 2015 29 March 2016 31 9 7 15 029.03
Sandefjord 31 May 2018 28 December 2020 81 33 26 22 040.74
AaB 1 January 2021 12 January 2022 40 17 11 12 042.50
Hammarby IF 12 January 2022 30 October 2023 74 39 19 16 052.70
Queens Park Rangers 30 October 2023 Present 33 13 9 11 039.39
Total 295 129 78 88 043.73

References

  1. ^ "Martí Cifuentes" (in Norwegian). Sandefjord Fotball. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Martí Cifuentes, un entrenador catalán triunfa en Suecia" [Martí Cifuentes, a Catalan manager triumphs in Sweden] (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  3. ^ "A hacer de la Nova Creu Alta un fortín" [To make Nova Creu Alta a fortress] (in Spanish). CE Sabadell FC. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Dette er Martí" [This is Martí] (in Norwegian). Sandefjord Fotball. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b "AaB ansætter Martí Cifuentes som ny cheftræner" [AaB sign Martí Cifuentes as new head coach] (in Danish). AaB Fodbold. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Intervju med Martí Cifuentes" [Interview with Martí Cifuentes]. AIK Fotboll. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  7. ^ "El santcugatenc Martí Cifuentes és el nou entrenador del Rubí de Tercera Divisió" [The santcugatenc Martí Cifuentes is the new manager of Rubí from Tercera División] (in Catalan). Cugat. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Martí Cifuentes és el nou entrenador" [Martí Cifuentes is the new manager] (in Catalan). UE Sant Andreu. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Martí Cifuentes dirigirà el Sant Andreu 2014/2015" [Martí Cifuentes will manage Sant Andreu 2014/2015] (in Catalan). UE Sant Andreu. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Cifuentes, molt dolgut amb l'antiga directiva del Sant Andreu" [Cifuentes, very hurt with the old management of Sant Andreu] (in Catalan). La Xarxa. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Martí Cifuentes es converteix en el nou entrenador de l'Hospitalet" [Martí Cifuentes becomes the new manager of L'Hospitalet] (in Catalan). Cugat. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Martí Cifuentes, destituït com a tècnic de l'Hospitalet" [Martí Cifuentes, sacked as manager of L'Hospitalet] (in Catalan). Cugat. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Martí Cifuentes marxa a Suècia per encarregar-se de la metodologia d'entrenament de l'AIk Solna" [Martí Cifuentes moves to Sweden to take over the training methodology of AIK Solna] (in Catalan). Ràdio Sabadell. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Spanjol blir ny Sandefjord-trener" [A Spaniard will be the new manager of Sandefjord] (in Norwegian). TV2. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Spanske Cifuentes er Sandefjords nye trener" [Spaniard Cifuentes is Sandefjord's new manager] (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Alt håp ute for Sandefjord. Rykket ned til OBOS-ligaen" [All hope lost for Sandefjord. Moved down to the OBOS league] (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Sandefjord rykker opp til Eliteserien" [Sandefjord are promoted to the Eliteserien] (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  18. ^ "Officielt: AaB ansætter spansk træner" [Official: AaB sign Spanish manager] (in Danish). bold.dk. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Cifuentes forlader AaB nu" [Cifuentes is leaving AaB now] (in Danish). AaB Fodbold. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Martí Cifuentes Hammarbys nye huvudtränare" [Martí Cifuentes Hammarby's new head coach] (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  21. ^ "Cifuentes solgt til Hammarby I.F." [Cifuentes sold to Hammarby I.F.] (in Danish). AaB Fodbold. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Martí Cifuentes på plats i Hammarby" [Martí Cifuentes on site in Hammarby] (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  23. ^ "Marti Cifuentes vinner Månadens Tränare" [Marti Cifuentes wins Manager of the Month] (in Swedish). Allsvenskan. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Straffar gav MFF första cupguldet på 33 år" [Penalties gave MFF the first cup title in 33 years] (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Bajen golvat från elva meter i titelmatchen" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Cifuentes är Månadens Tränare för andra gången" [Cifuentes is Manager of the Month for the second time] (in Swedish). Allsvenskan. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  27. ^ "Tabell: Allsvenskan 2022" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  28. ^ "Halvtidssummering med vd Richard von Yxkull" [Half-time summary with CEO Richard von Yxkull] (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  29. ^ "Marti Cifuentes exclusive interview: New QPR coach arrives with fresh ideas from Scandinavia via Ajax and even Millwall". Sky Sports. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  30. ^ "Hammarby ute ur ECL-kvalet" [Hammarby out of the ECL qualifiers] (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  31. ^ "Martí Cifuentes till Queens Park Rangers" [Martí Cifuentes to Queens Park Rangers] (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  32. ^ "Martí Cifuentes arrives as QPR head coach". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  33. ^ "Marti Cifuentes: QPR appoint Hammarby boss as new head coach". BBC Sport. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  34. ^ "Martí Cifuentes, el entrenador milagro: "Sabía que no estaba loco"" [Martí Cifuentes, miracle manager: "I knew I was not crazy"] (in Spanish). Sport. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  35. ^ Martí Cifuentes at Soccerway

External links

  • Martí Cifuentes manager profile at BDFutbol
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Queens Park Rangers F.C. – current squad
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Managerial positions
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Sandefjord Fotball – managers
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AaB – managers
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Hammarby Fotboll – managers
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Queens Park Rangers F.C. – managers
(c) = caretaker manager