Juan Ramón López Caro

Juan Ramón López Caro

Caro in a press conference as Oman manager in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Juan Ramón López Caro
Date of birth	(1963-03-23) 23 March 1963 (age 61)
Place of birth	Lebrija, Spain
Youth career
Years	Team
	Lebrijana
	Betis
Managerial career
1992–1993	Lebrijana
1993–1995	Lebrija
1995–1997	Los Palacios
1997–1998	Dos Hermanas
1998–1999	Melilla
1999–2001	Mallorca B
2000	Mallorca
2001–2005	Real Madrid B
2005–2006	Real Madrid
2006	Racing Santander
2006–2007	Levante
2007–2008	Celta
2008–2010	Spain U21
2010	Vaslui
2013–2014	Saudi Arabia
2016	Oman
2016–2017	Dalian Yifang
2018–2019	Shenzhen

He managed Real Madrid and Levante in La Liga, as well as Celta and Real Madrid Castilla in the Segunda División. After a spell in charge of Spain under-21 he moved abroad, managing the national sides of Saudi Arabia and Oman and winning promotion from China League One with two clubs.

Early career and Real Madrid

Born in Lebrija, Province of Seville, Andalusia, López Caro began working as coach before his 30th birthday, with clubs in his city of birth. His first job at the professional level arrived in the 1998–99 season, as he led Melilla to the first position in the Segunda División B, albeit without promotion in the playoffs. He then became manager of Mallorca B, and officially coached the first team in the UEFA Intertoto Cup against Romania's CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț in July 2000 (4–3 aggregate loss); the reserves contested this fixture as Luis Aragonés' side had not yet commenced pre-season.

Lopéz Caro signed with Real Madrid in the summer of 2001, being in charge of the reserve team and achieving promotion to Segunda División in 2005. He was promoted to the main squad in December of that year following the sacking of Vanderlei Luxemburgo, and his first game was a 2–1 away loss against Olympiacos in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

Levante, Celta and Spain U21

After leaving the Santiago Bernabéu in June 2006, López Caro was appointed at fellow top-flight club Racing Santander for a salary of €650,000 that would rise to €900,000 should the team avoid relegation. However, a month later and without leading the Cantabrians in a competitive match, he moved to Levante. The following January, days after a 3–0 defeat at city rivals Valencia, he was dismissed and Abel Resino appointed in his place.

López Caro returned to the second tier in October 2007, succeeding Hristo Stoichkov at 11th-placed Celta. The following March he too was relieved of his duties, with the side now in eighth but nine points off the promotion places.

In May 2008, López Caro had his first international job, being placed in charge of the Spain's under-21s succeeding Iñaki Sáez. He qualified them for the 2009 UEFA European Championship in Sweden, where they were edged in the group stage by England and Germany.

Vaslui and Middle East

In June 2010, López Caro moved abroad for the first time to Liga I's Vaslui, on a three-year deal for a total €3.5 million salary subject to bonuses, therefore becoming the best paid coach in the competition's history. He was fired in October, after enduring a rocky spell in Romania.

López Caro succeeded Frank Rijkaard as manager of the Saudi Arabia national team in January 2013. After a disappointing showing in the Gulf Cup in the run-up to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, he was dismissed in December 2014. He remained in the Middle East and was hired for the same job by Oman in January 2016, and left by mutual accord at the end of his one-year contract.

China

Remaining in Asia, López Caro was hired by Dalian Yifang of China League One in November 2016. In his only season, he won promotion to the Chinese Super League, with a record points tally and a game to spare.

In April 2018, López Caro was appointed at Shenzhen, again in the second division and won promotion, this time as runners-up. He was fired at the end of July 2019 with the side second from bottom in a 12-game winless run, and succeeded by Roberto Donadoni.

As of 28 July 2019

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record					Ref.
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Los Palacios		1 July 1995	30 June 1997	80	32	20	28	040.00
Dos Hermanas		1 July 1997	30 June 1998	38	30	7	1	078.95
Melilla		1 July 1998	30 June 1999	44	21	11	12	047.73
Mallorca B		1 July 1999	30 June 2001	76	32	29	15	042.11
Mallorca		30 June 2000	9 July 2000	2	1	0	1	050.00
Real Madrid B		1 July 2001	4 December 2005	183	97	45	41	053.01
Real Madrid		4 December 2005	3 June 2006	33	17	10	6	051.52
Racing Santander		3 June 2006	6 July 2006	0	0	0	0	!—
Levante		6 July 2006	15 January 2007	20	5	6	9	025.00
Celta		8 October 2007	11 March 2008	21	7	8	6	033.33
Spain U21		1 July 2008	14 June 2010	17	9	3	5	052.94
Vaslui		14 June 2010	9 October 2010	13	4	5	4	030.77
Saudi Arabia		10 January 2013	15 December 2014	22	9	5	8	040.91
Oman		14 January 2016	29 November 2016	8	3	2	3	037.50
Dalian Yifang		29 November 2016	26 December 2017	32	19	8	5	059.38
Shenzhen		11 April 2018	July 2019	46	17	11	18	036.96
Total				635	303	170	162	047.72	—

Melilla

• Segunda División B: 1998–99

Real Madrid B

• Segunda División B: 2004–05

Dalian Yifang

• China League One: 2017

Saudi Arabia

• Gulf Cup of Nations runner-up: 2014

Individual

• China League One Best Coach: 2017