Where is the former Spanish football coach today?

As a documentary detailing how Spain’s players united for justice after their 2023 World Cup victory and the controversy that followed, Netflix’s This Is the End: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football is unlike any other another. It is therefore not surprising that it also touches on their past experiences and struggles, resulting in a significant mention of former women’s national team coach Ignacio Quereda and his 27 years as a coach.

Ignacio Quereda has evolved from player to coach

Already when Ignacio was a little boy growing up on the streets of Badajoz, he first fell in love with the game of football, which resulted in him playing in youth teams. In fact, he was a right-winger for Real Madrid’s youth team before eventually representing his country at the 1973 and 1975 World University Games, but then decided it would be better for him to pursue the sport on the sidelines. He obtained his coaching certificate in the 1970s, after which he served as Spain’s assistant coach at the 1979 World University Games and for a time coached CD Móstoles Tercera División club.

Ignacio’s relative success in these positions was the reason why the Royal Spanish Federation of Association Football (RFEF) appointed him coach of the women’s national team in 1988, only for him to serve in that capacity until 2015. Unfortunately, the team never won a single title under his leadership. championship title, but they qualified for several tournaments, which was quite a challenge, but failed to advance to any knockout stages. However, he still managed to be one of the longest-serving soccer coaches of all time, and many argue this is because the federation at the time didn’t really care about the women’s team. They had them because they had to, especially since there had been many complaints about Ignacio over the years.

Ignacio Quereda allegedly had a problematic situation

As the above-mentioned series shows, Ignacio Quereda often treated the players under his wing as his daughters, not professional footballers. He allegedly pinched their cheeks and became so comfortable with them that he even made comments in the locker room and homophobic comments without taking the matter too seriously. In fact, one thing that several experienced players remember vividly is that often when discussing strategy and drawing people on the board, he used to draw 12 players when the game was played with 11 on the field.

This aspect allegedly made athletes feel as if they were not taken seriously in any way, shape or form, and that their coach was not fully qualified for the job, despite his long-standing career. They reportedly expressed concerns about the matter to the federation as well, but were fired until they finally decided to replace him with Jorge Vilda in 2015 after Spain’s poor performance in its first-ever Women’s World Cup. Ignacio finished his career with 139 games under his belt as a head coach and a winning percentage of just 38.13%.

Ignacio Quereda currently lives a quiet life

Since Ignacio Quereda formally retired on July 30, 2015, he has apparently preferred to live away from the spotlight and hustle and bustle of the professional sports world. The fact that talks with the women’s national team did not stop until the post-victory kissing incident in 2023 was finalized may be the same reason, but the player has made it clear that he truly loves the sport and believes he was the best man for the head coaching job when he was in that role. But today, at the age of 74, he seems to be simply living a quiet, comfortable life surrounded by loved ones back home, while also trying to travel.