Miguel Ángel Ramírez · Biography

Miguel Ángel Ramírez Medina was born on 23 October 1984 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. He learned his trade as a coach in the youth teams of UD Las Palmas and never played professionally. He built his career first in youth football and then as a head coach in Ecuador, Brazil, the United States, Spain, Qatar and Sweden. His biggest honour is the 2019 Copa Sudamericana with Independiente del Valle, the Ecuadorian club's first international title.

Education and early years in Las Palmas

Ramírez holds a teaching diploma and a degree in physical education. He started coaching the under-16 side of AD Claret, the school he had attended. In the 2003-04 season he joined the UD Las Palmas academy, where he coached the under-16s and assisted Mingo Oramas with the under-19 team in the División de Honor. In his final university year he spent an Erasmus term in Greece and worked with AEK's youth setup. He later moved to Vitoria to start a doctorate at the University of the Basque Country but left after three months. In 2012 he spent a few months at Deportivo Alavés.

Aspire Academy and Qatari football

In 2012 Roberto Olabe brought him to the Aspire Academy in Doha, where he worked for six years. He coached Qatar's under-14 team and assisted Félix Sánchez with the under-19 side. He also handled technical work for the academy's younger age groups and its coaching programme. That spell ended in 2018, when he moved to Ecuador.

Independiente del Valle and the Copa Sudamericana

Ramírez joined Independiente del Valle in 2018. He worked in the youth system first and then took over from Olabe as head of sporting strategy. In May 2019 he became first-team coach after Ismael Rescalvo left for Emelec. In that year's Copa Sudamericana his side beat Corinthians 4-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals. On 9 November 2019 they beat Argentina's Colón 3-1 in the final in Asunción. In 2020 they met Flamengo in the Recopa Sudamericana and lost the tie after a 2-2 first leg and a 3-0 defeat in Rio de Janeiro. He left in December 2020, having qualified the team for the 2021 Copa Libertadores. His record was 32 wins, 18 draws and 19 defeats in 69 matches.

Internacional and Charlotte FC

On 2 March 2021 he signed a two-year deal with Internacional of Porto Alegre, who finished as runners-up in the Campeonato Gaúcho. He was dismissed on 11 June 2021 after a Copa do Brasil exit against Série B side Vitória. In 22 matches he won 11, drew 4 and lost 7. On 7 July 2021 Charlotte FC named him the first head coach in the club's history, ahead of its MLS debut in 2022. He took charge of 17 matches and was let go on 31 May 2022, with the team just outside the play-off places.

Sporting Gijón and Al-Wakrah

On 17 January 2023 he returned to Spain to take over Real Sporting de Gijón in the Spanish second division. He secured survival with one round to spare. In 2023-24 he led the team into the promotion play-offs, where they lost to Espanyol in the semi-finals. He announced his departure in June 2024, after 66 matches with 24 wins, 19 draws and 23 defeats. Later that month he joined Al-Wakrah in the Qatar Stars League, but he stayed only until September 2024 and coached seven matches.

Real Zaragoza and Malmö FF

On 27 December 2024 Real Zaragoza appointed him in the Spanish second division. His first home game at La Romareda was a draw with Cádiz in February 2025. He was dismissed on 16 March 2025 after a 4-1 defeat at UD Almería. He left with one win, four draws and five defeats in ten matches. On 2 December 2025 Malmö FF unveiled him as head coach for the 2026 Allsvenskan season, replacing Henrik Rydström. He started the job on 1 January 2026 and was dismissed on 26 May 2026, nine league rounds in and after a 3-2 home defeat to newly promoted Västerås SK.