Manolo Preciado left us too soon to become a legend

Those who were lucky enough to meet him in person and deal with it on more than one occasion we were frozen on the news. Manolo Preciado left us a 6 June 2012 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Mareny de Barraquetes, Valencia.

The Cantabrian coach had just signed a contract with the Villarreal but he did not sit on the bench ‘groguet’. He passed away the night before being introduced.. Definitely, a life marked by personal misfortune since that of El Astillero had lost his wife victim of cancer in 2002 and her youngest son in a car accident in 2004. But Manolo was made of another paste and decided to fight and look forward instead of giving up..

As a player, made debut in First Division with Racing de Santander with only 20 years. In the Cantabrian club he remained 5 seasons, 3 of them in the highest category where he left the team before signing for Linares first and Mallorca later, both in the silver category. Alaves, Ourense and Gimástica de Torrelavega were the rest of the teams that had Manolo in their ranks.

But without any doubt, where he fell deeper among football fans was in his time as a coach. Again Racing it was his first experience on the bench, first in the subsidiary and then in the first team, with which it premiered in the First Division.

Manolo Preciado and the rise of Xérez with Levante UD

In 2003 he joined Levante with which he managed a historic promotion to First after more than 40 years without enjoying the highest category. Incomprehensibly, it was not renewed by the granota club, something that the fans never understood or forgave the highest shareholder of the club Pedro Villarroel.

Hero in Gijón and Valencia

Murcia, Racing again and Sporting Gijon were his teams after triumphing in Levante. Especially successful was his stage in Gijón where he achieved a new promotion and remained for 6 consecutive seasons becoming icon and legend of the rojiblanco club.

Regardless of your sports career, both as player and coach, Manolo Preciado he was always a close and simple person. With whom it was nice to talk and that was very far from the stereotype of top-level coach almost inaccessible to journalists or fans.

The date of 5 of June 2004 it was engraved in the hearts of all granotas fans with the promotion of the team in Xerez with Valued on the bench. The 15 June 2008 in that of the fans of the Sporting when he achieved promotion to first after 10 years in El Molinon against Éibar. The 6 June 2012 also in that of all who loved it, when yours stopped.

Las mejores frases de Manolo Preciado

-“La vida me ha golpeado fuerte. Podía haberme hecho vulnerable y acabar pegándome un tiro o podía mirar al cielo y crecer. Elegí la segunda opción”

-“Mañana sale el sol”

-“¿Euforia? Estamos a tres puntos del descenso. Ni ahora somos el Bayer Leverkusen ni antes éramos la última mierda que cagó Pilatos”

-“Si Mourinho dijo de verdad que el Sporting regaló el partido al Barcelona en el Camp Nou, es un canalla”

-“El año pasado teníamos un acojono que no te lo puedes ni creer, cuando vinimos al Santiago Bernabeu, y así acabó el tema: nos metieron siete”

-“Se puede perder y perder. Otras veces hemos perdido y salido con la cabeza alta, pero hoy creo que la tenemos que agachar y yo el primero”