anquela · Biography

Juan Antonio Albacete Anquela was born in Linares, in the Andalusian province of Jaén, on 11 September 1957. He came through the reserve side of Real Jaén and played as a winger for almost two decades before moving into coaching, where he led a dozen clubs in the Spanish second and third tiers between 1997 and 2022. His name is tied above all to AD Alcorcón, whom he took up to the Spanish second division for the first time and with whom he knocked Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey in 2009.

A winger in Andalusia and Valencia

He made his debut for Real Jaén B in 1976-77 and spent a season on loan at Úbeda CF before establishing himself in the Jaén first team from 1978 to 1983. That year he joined Elche CF, and in 1983-84 he was part of the side that won promotion to the Spanish top flight. He stayed at Elche until 1986. Short spells followed at Albacete Balompié (1986-87), Linares CF in his home town (1987-88) and Córdoba CF (1988-1990). He saw out his career in the lower divisions with Torredonjimeno CF and CD Iliturgi, and retired at Real Jaén in 1993.

First steps as a coach

Real Jaén gave him his first chance on the bench, as caretaker in 1997 and in 2000, and then as head coach for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. In 2005 he spent around three months in charge of SD Huesca, and he coached UD Melilla in 2005-06. In 2007 he took over Águilas CF for the closing stretch of the 2006-07 campaign. Those years in the Spanish third tier, away from the spotlight, shaped his preference for organised, competitive teams.

Alcorcón and the 4-0 night

He arrived at Agrupación Deportiva Alcorcón, then a third-tier side, in 2008. On 27 October 2009, in the first leg of the Copa del Rey round of 32, his team beat Real Madrid 4-0 at the Santo Domingo stadium, with two goals from Borja Pérez, one from Ernesto and an own goal by Arbeloa. Madrid won the return leg 1-0 and Alcorcón went through 4-1 on aggregate; the tie has been known ever since as the “Alcorconazo”. In that same 2009-10 season Anquela secured the club’s first promotion to the Spanish second division. Alcorcón established themselves at that level and finished fourth in 2011-12, which earned their coach the Miguel Muñoz Trophy as the best coach in the second tier. He left the club in 2012.

Granada and Numancia

In the summer of 2012 he stepped up to the top flight with Granada CF, but was sacked on 30 January 2013. The following season he joined CD Numancia in the second division, where he stayed from 2013 to 2015 and won the Castile and León Cup in 2013-14.

Huesca and Real Oviedo

In 2015 he returned to SD Huesca, this time in the second division, and remained for two seasons. In 2016-17 he led the team to sixth place and into the promotion play-offs, where they lost in the semi-finals to Getafe. In 2017 he signed for Real Oviedo, whom he coached until 2019 across two second-division campaigns spent chasing the upper places.

Deportivo, a second Alcorcón spell and Ibiza

In July 2019 he was hired by RC Deportivo de La Coruña, freshly relegated to the second division, but a poor start to the league campaign led to his dismissal on 7 October that year. In November 2020 he went back to Alcorcón, signed a new deal in June 2021 and was let go on 18 September 2021. His next post was UD Ibiza, also in the second division, in 2022. The Balearic club dismissed him on 23 November 2022.