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 La Liga club Racing Santander.
Career Born in Oviedo, Asturias, José Alberto started his career at Astor's youth setup in 2001 (later renamed Oviedo ACF); at that time, he was playing as a senior for Tercera División side San Lázaro, but retired shortly after. In 2006, he took over Vallobín's under-19 squad, but returned to Astur in the following year.
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.
On 12 October 2013, José Alberto was named manager of Tercera División side Covadonga, and led the side to fifth position during the campaign, one point shy of the play-offs. He resigned the following 19 May, and returned to Sporting on 2 June.
On 9 June 2016, José Alberto was appointed manager of the reserves, freshly relegated to the fourth division. He achieved promotion to the Segunda División B in his first season, and reached the play-offs to the Segunda División in his second.
On 18 November 2018, José Alberto replaced Rubén Baraja at the helm of the first team. His first match in charge occurred five days later, a 2–1 away win against Granada. He was sacked on 21 December 2019, after two losses against fourth-tier Zamora in the Copa del Rey, and Extremadura.
On 27 July 2020, José Alberto was appointed in charge of Mirandés, still in the second division. The following 1 June, he was named in charge of fellow league team Málaga.
On 24 January 2022, after a 5–0 home loss to Ibiza, José Alberto was dismissed by the Andalusians. On 13 December, he replaced sacked Guillermo Fernández Romo at the helm of Racing Santander, also in division two.
Personal life José Alberto's younger brother Dani was a footballer. A left back, he was a Real Oviedo youth graduate.
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenure TeamNatFromToRecord Covadonga12 October 201319 May 2014 Sporting Gijón B 9 June 201618 November 2018 Sporting Gijón 18 November 201821 December 2019 Mirandés27 July 20201 June 2021Málaga1 June 202124 January 2022Racing Santander13 December 2022PresentTotal —
Honours Manager Racing de Santander
• Segunda División: 2025–26 Sporting de Gijón B Tercera División: 2016–17
References
External links José Alberto player profile at BDFutbol José Alberto manager profile at BDFutbol