Vicente Miera

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

Vicente Miera Campos (born 10 May 1940) is a Spanish former professional football defender and manager.

Vicente Miera

Miera with Real Madrid in 1965
Personal information
Full name	Vicente Miera Campos[1]
Date of birth	(1940-05-10) 10 May 1940 (age 85)[1]
Place of birth	Nueva Montaña, Spain
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position	Defender
Youth career
	Nueva Montaña
	Racing Santander
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1957–1960	Rayo Cantabria
1960–1961	Racing Santander	34	(1)
1961–1969	Real Madrid	95	(1)
1969–1971	Sporting Gijón	23	(0)
Total		152	(2)
International career
1961	Spain B	1	(0)
1961	Spain	1	(0)
Managerial career
1973–1974	Langreo
1974–1976	Oviedo
1976–1979	Sporting Gijón
1979–1980	Español
1980–1982	Sporting Gijón
1982–1986	Spain (assistant)
1986	Atlético Madrid
1987–1989	Oviedo
1989–1990	Tenerife
1991–1992	Spain
1992	Spain U23
1994–1996	Racing Santander
1997	Espanyol
1997	Sevilla
Medal record Olympic medal record Representing  Spain Men's Football 1992 Barcelona Team Competition
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

He appeared in 139 La Liga games over ten seasons and scored two goals, mainly at the service of Real Madrid. Later, he embarked on a managerial career that lasted more than 25 years, and included a brief spell with the Spain national team.

Playing career

Born in the neighbourhood of Nueva Montaña in Santander, Cantabria,^[2] Miera played two seasons with his hometown club Racing de Santander, one in each major division, signing for Real Madrid in 1961. Never an undisputed starter safe for the 1964–65 season, he was part of the latter's squads as they claimed seven La Liga titles, adding the European Cup in 1965–66 (he did not take part in the final against FK Partizan itself, but played both legs of the preliminary round and the first round); he made 147 appearances in an eight-year stint.^[3][4]

Miera joined Sporting de Gijón in summer 1969, helping it promote to the top tier in his first year and retiring the following season aged 31.^[5][6] He won his sole cap for Spain on 10 December 1961, in a 1–1 friendly draw in France.^[7]

Coaching career

A manager since 1974, Miera started at the professional level with Real Oviedo, suffering top-flight relegation in his second season,^[8] then moved to neighbours Sporting where he would remain for five years, except for the 1979–80 campaign at RCD Español. He worked in both major divisions for more than 20 years,^[9] his last stop being Sevilla FC (Segunda División, in 1997–98).^[10]

Miera oversaw Sporting's first-ever qualification for the UEFA Cup in 1978–79, following a fifth-place finish in the league.^[9] They disposed of Torino FC in the first round, being ousted by Red Star Belgrade 2–1 on aggregate in the next stage.^[11]

Having already served as assistant for four years, Miera was handed the reins of the national team in 1991,^[12] remaining there seven months as the nation failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 1992 and stepping down due to health problems, being replaced by Javier Clemente.^[13] That summer, he switched to the Olympic squad, leading them to the gold medal in Barcelona.^[14][15]

Honours

Player

Racing Santander

• Segunda División: 1959–60^[16]

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69^[4]
• Copa del Generalísimo: 1961–62^[4]
• European Cup: 1965–66^[4]

Sporting Gijón

• Segunda División: 1969–70^[17]

Manager

Oviedo

• Segunda División: 1974–75^[18]

Sporting Gijón

• Segunda División: 1976–77^[19]

Spain

• Summer Olympic Games: 1992^[20]