Juan Carlos Unzué


Juan Carlos Unzué Labiano is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and a manager.
A complete player with reflexes and agility he represented mostly Sevilla, for which he appeared in nearly 300 official games. He also spent two years with Barcelona.
Unzué played 318 La Liga matches in 17 seasons. After retiring, he went on to work extensively as a goalkeepers' coach and a manager.

Playing career

Born in Pamplona, Unzué came through the ranks of hometown club CA Osasuna, but could not break into the first team. Moving to La Liga giants FC Barcelona in 1988 was more of the same, as he was barred by legendary Andoni Zubizarreta.
Joining Sevilla FC for 1990–91, Unzué blossomed as a top flight player, rarely missing a match in his first five years. As the Andalusians were relegated at the end of the 1996–97 campaign, he moved to CD Tenerife for a further two seasons.
After two years at Real Oviedo as backup to local Esteban, his input consisting of seven Copa del Rey appearances, Unzué returned to his first club in summer 2001, being the starter in his debut season and second-choice in his second. He retired from the game in June 2003 at age 36, after having helped the Navarrese reach the last-four in the domestic cup.

Coaching career

Unzué returned to the Camp Nou immediately after retiring, as the goalkeeping coach of the Frank Rijkaard-led side. After the Dutchman left, he retained his position under Pep Guardiola.
On 17 June 2010, after five years with Barcelona, Unzué had his first head coach experience, joining Segunda División team CD Numancia. One year later he returned to his previous position, replacing Carles Busquets.
On 21 June 2012, Unzué was presented as Racing de Santander manager. On 13 August, however, he was sacked, and became Luis Enrique's assistant at RC Celta de Vigo the following 13 June.
Unzué returned to Barcelona on 15 July 2014, remaining as Luis Enrique's assistant. On 28 May 2017, he returned to managerial duties after being appointed at the helm of Celta for two seasons.
On 19 May 2018, after finishing in a disappointing 13th position, Unzué left Balaídos. On 13 June 2019, after more than a year without a club, he signed with recently relegated side Girona FC, being dismissed on 21 October.

Personal life

Unzué's son, Jesús, is also a footballer and a goalkeeper. He was a member of the Barcelona Juvenil squad which won the league and cup in 2011, but was unable to make the breakthrough to the professional level and moved on to local clubs such as CF Gavà and CE Júpiter.
Unzué's older son, Aitor, played as a midfielder in Tercera División, and his niece Marta represented Barcelona. A keen cyclist in his spare time, he came from a family which was heavily involved in cycle racing: his brother Eusebio managed the, whilst his nephew Enrique Sanz was a racing cyclist.
In February 2020, Unzué was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. On 18 June, one day before the league game between Sevilla and Barcelona in Seville and three days ahead of the International ALS/MND day, he made his condition public at a special press conference held at Camp Nou.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Club

Barcelona
Spain U20