Álvaro Cervera Díaz (born 20 September 1965) is a Spanish footballmanager and former player who played as a winger.
As a player he made 261 matches in La Liga over 12 seasons, scoring 17 goals, playing for Racing de Santander (in two spells), Mallorca and Valencia in the competition.
Cervera became a manager in 2002, going on to work with a number of clubs.
In the summer of 1987, Álvaro – known by his first name during his playing days – signed for RCD Mallorca, remaining five years with them and being relegated twice from the top flight. In the 1988–89 campaign he scored a career-best six goals in 35 matches, helping the Balearic Islands team to promote from Segunda División.[5][4]
Álvaro moved to Valencia CF in June 1992, following Mallorca's relegation. He made 32 appearances and netted three times in his first year (notably once in a 4–1 away victory over Athletic Bilbao),[6] but was more often than not a reserve from there onwards,[5] for that and his following club Racing, which he left to play with Hércules CF in the second division.[7]
Álvaro retired in 2001 at the age of nearly 36, following a spell in the lower leagues.[4]
Álvaro earned four caps for Spain, in slightly more than one year. He made his debut on 4 September 1991, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute for Andoni Goikoetxea in a 2–1 friendly win against UruguayinOviedo.[8]
Cervera took up coaching in 2001, working with amateurs Catarroja CF in several capacities.[9] From 2004 to 2011 he managed almost exclusively in the Segunda División B, and his first job at the professional level arrived in 2011–12 when he was appointed at Recreativo de Huelva in division two.[10] However, in March 2012, he arranged to have his contract terminated when he received an offer from former side Racing Santander in the top tier,[11] but he only collected three draws in his 13 games in charge to become the competition's worst ever debutant,[12] and was not renewed.[13]
On 3 July 2012, Cervera signed with Tenerife where he had already played youth football more than 30 years ago.[14] Shortly before achieving promotion to the second division in his debut season, he renewed his link until 2015,[15][16] being however relieved of his duties on 2 February 2015[17] even though he had a contract running until 2018.[18]
A quote from Cervera, "La lucha no se negocia" ("The fight is non-negotiable" in Spanish), was adopted by Cádiz as a club catchphrase shortly after his arrival.[23] On 11 January 2022, as the club was in the relegation zone, he was sacked.[24]
On 18 October 2022, Cervera replaced BoloatReal Oviedo.[25] He was dismissed on 21 September of the following year, after the start of the new season saw the side placed second-bottom.[26][27]
^Corcuera, José Ignacio (1 December 2013). "De espaldas a Guinea" [Turning one's back on Guinea] (in Spanish). Cuadernos de Fútbol. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
^"Hércules CF". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 29 August 1997. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
^Ortiz, Fabián (5 September 1991). "Tiempo de llorar, tiempo de soñar" [A time to cry, a time to dream]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 November 2014.
^García, Chisco (19 September 2023). "El futuro de Cervera pende de un hilo" [Cervera's future hangs by a thread]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 September 2023.
^"Comunicado oficial: Álvaro Cervera" [Official announcement: Álvaro Cervera] (in Spanish). Real Oviedo. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.