José Alberto (footballer)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is López and the second or maternal family name is Menéndez.

José Alberto López Menéndez (born 21 May 1982), known as José Alberto, is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a defender, he is the currently manager of Segunda División club Racing de Santander.

José Alberto

Personal information
Full name	José Alberto López Menéndez
Date of birth	(1982-05-21) 21 May 1982 (age 43)
Place of birth	Oviedo, Spain
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Racing Santander (manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2002	San Lázaro	14	(0)
Managerial career
2001–2006	Oviedo ACF (youth)
2006–2007	Vallobín (youth)
2007–2008	Astur (youth)
2009–2013	Sporting Gijón (youth)
2013–2014	Covadonga
2014–2016	Sporting Gijón (youth)
2016–2018	Sporting Gijón B
2018–2019	Sporting Gijón
2020–2021	Mirandés
2021–2022	Málaga
2022–	Racing Santander
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Born in Oviedo, Asturias, José Alberto started his career at Astur CF's youth setup in 2001 (later renamed Oviedo ACF); at that time, he was playing as a senior for Tercera División side SDR San Lázaro, but retired shortly after. In 2006 he took over CD Vallobín's under-19 squad, but returned to Astur in the following year.^[1]

In 2008, José Alberto moved to Sporting de Gijón, being named assistant manager of the under-14s. He was appointed manager of the under-13 team in the following year, and subsequently took over the under-14s.^[1]

On 12 October 2013, José Alberto was named manager of Tercera División side CD Covadonga,^[2] and led the side to fifth position during the campaign, one point shy of the play-offs. He resigned the following 19 May,^[3] and returned to Sporting on 2 June.^[4]

On 9 June 2016, José Alberto was appointed manager of the reserves, freshly relegated to the fourth division.^[5] He achieved promotion to Segunda División B in his first season, and reached the play-offs to Segunda División in his second.^[6]

On 18 November 2018, José Alberto replaced Rubén Baraja at the helm of the first team.^[7] His first match in charge occurred five days later, a 2–1 away win against Granada CF.^[8] He was sacked on 21 December 2019, after two losses against fourth-tier Zamora CF in the Copa del Rey, and Extremadura UD.^[9]

On 27 July 2020, José Alberto was appointed in charge of CD Mirandés, still in the second division.^[10] The following 1 June, he was named in charge of fellow league team Málaga CF.^[11]

On 24 January 2022, after a 5–0 home loss to UD Ibiza, José Alberto was dismissed by the Andalusians.^[12] On 13 December, he replaced sacked Guillermo Fernández Romo at the helm of Racing de Santander, still in division two.^[13]

Personal life

José Alberto's younger brother Dani was a footballer. A left back, he was a Real Oviedo youth graduate.^[14]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 16 August 2025

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record								Ref
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Covadonga		12 October 2013	19 May 2014	30	19	9	2	62	22	+40	063.33	[15]
Sporting Gijón B		9 June 2016	18 November 2018	125	77	29	19	256	99	+157	061.60	[16]
Sporting Gijón		18 November 2018	21 December 2019	53	20	15	18	55	54	+1	037.74	[17]
Mirandés		27 July 2020	1 June 2021	43	14	12	17	38	42	−4	032.56	[18]
Málaga		1 June 2021	24 January 2022	26	9	7	10	26	36	−10	034.62	[19]
Racing Santander		13 December 2022	Present	114	51	29	34	173	146	+27	044.74	[20]
Total				391	190	101	100	610	399	+211	048.59	—

Honours

Manager

Sporting de Gijón B

• Tercera División: 2016–17