Marcelino García Toral

Marcelino García Toral (Spanish pronunciation: [maɾθeˈlino ɣaɾˈθi.a toˈɾal]; born 14 August 1965), known simply as Marcelino, is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He is the current head coach of La Liga club Villarreal.

In a ten-year senior career, he amassed La Liga totals of 74 matches and two goals, all at the service of Sporting de Gijón. He became a manager in 1997, working in the top division with Recreativo, Racing de Santander (two spells), Zaragoza, Sevilla, Villarreal, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao, being named best coach in Spain for the 2006–07 and 2017–18 seasons and winning the 2018–19 Copa del Rey with Valencia and the 2020–21 Supercopa de España with Athletic. After a brief stint in charge of Marseille, he returned to Villarreal in November 2023.

Playing career

Born in Villaviciosa, Asturias, Marcelino was irregularly used in his first four professional seasons, at Sporting de Gijón. He did appear in a career-best 33 matches in the 1986–87 campaign, as the club finished fourth in La Liga. His top-flight debut was on 22 December 1985, in a 1–1 away draw against Celta.

After two Segunda División spells, with Racing Santander and Levante, both ended in relegation, Marcelino moved to the lower leagues with Elche. He retired in 1994 at only 28, due to injury.

Coaching career

Marcelino started coaching at 32 with lowly Lealtad, also in Asturias. In the early 2000s he worked in the Segunda División B, with Sporting's reserves.