Enrique "Quique" Sánchez Flores (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈkikeˈsantʃeθˈfloɾes]; born 5 February 1965) is a Spanish football
manager and former player who played as a
right-back.
He began his professional career with
Valencia in 1984, going on to amass
La Liga totals of 304 games and 16 goals over 12 seasons and also appearing for
Real Madrid and
Zaragoza in the competition, retiring in 1997. Internationally, he represented
Spain at
under-18,
under-21 and
under-23 levels, appearing with the senior side at the
1990 World Cup.
In 2001, Flores began his managerial career when he took charge of Real Madrid's youth team. His first senior post came in 2004, with
Getafe, and he also managed Valencia,
Atlético Madrid – where he won the
2010 Europa League – and
Espanyol in the top division. Abroad, he had spells at
Benfica in the
Primeira Liga and
Watford (twice) in the
Premier League, as well as stints in the United Arab Emirates and China.
Playing career
Born in
Madrid, Flores spent his first ten years as a senior with
Valencia, starting in
1984–85. The club was relegated in his
second season, and when it returned to
La Liga in the
1987–88 campaign, finished 14th. However, from that point until
1994 the team never ranked lower than seventh, with him as first-choice.[1]
Flores moved to
Real Madrid in summer 1994 on a four-year contract, and stayed with the
capital side for two seasons, winning the league title in
the first one[2] but being deemed surplus to requirements early into the 1996 preseason after complaining to newly-arrived manager
Fabio Capello of toenail pains.[3] Subsequently, he had a brief spell with
Real Zaragoza, retiring from professional football at the age of 32 with Spanish top-flight totals of 304 games and 16 goals;[4] in his
only season in the
Segunda División, as Valencia won the championship, he posted career-highs with 40 matches and nine goals.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
Flores began his coaching career in 2001 by taking charge of Real Madrid's youth teams. After earning plaudits during his three seasons with the youth teams, he caught the eye of the newly promoted
Getafe, also in Madrid.[15]
Valencia
After the
2004–05 campaign with Getafe, in which they finished in 13th place, Flores was given the opportunity to coach his former club Valencia, succeeding
Claudio Ranieri.[16] In his
first year, he guided them to third place and thus
qualified for the
UEFA Champions League where the team went on to reach the quarter-finals, being knocked out by
Chelsea.[17]
In May 2007, the Che achieved a
top-four league finish and consequently a place in
the next Champions League. On 29 October, however, the board of directors dismissed Flores after a string of poor results.[18]
On 28 September 2013, only three months after leaving the country, Flores returned to the
United Arab Emirates, being appointed at
Al Ain.[30] However, his tenure was brief, as he was dismissed on 8 March 2014 due to poor results.[31]
Return to Getafe
After nearly nine months without a club, Flores returned to Getafe on 5 January 2015 to succeed
Cosmin Contra as the new manager, following the latter's departure to China.[32] His first match in charge took place two days later, and it ended with a
1–1 away draw against
Almería in the domestic cup;[33] on 26 February, however, citing personal reasons, he resigned.[34]
However, despite going on to lead the team to a comfortable
mid-table position and
the semi-finals of the
FA Cup, it was announced on 13 May 2016 that Flores would be leaving at the end of the season.[37]
Espanyol
On 9 June 2016, Flores returned to Spain, signing a three-year deal to replace
Constantin Gâlcă as manager of
Espanyol.[38] His second signing was
José Antonio Reyes, with whom he had previously worked at Benfica and Atlético.[39]
Flores was dismissed on 20 April 2018, after achieving poor results towards the end of
the season.[40] In July, he was on a four-man shortlist for the vacant
Egyptian national team manager job.[41]
Shanghai Shenhua
On 25 December 2018, Flores was appointed as manager of Chinese club
Shanghai Shenhua.[42] The following July, he left.[43]
Return to Watford
Flores returned to Watford on 7 September 2019, replacing his compatriot
Javi Gracia who was dismissed the same day.[44] His team completed a comeback from 2–0 down to draw 2–2 with
Arsenal at
Vicarage Road in his first game back on 15 September.[45] However, one week later, they were defeated 8–0 at the
City of Manchester Stadium by
Manchester City, with the opposition scoring five goals in the first 15 minutes for their biggest ever Premier League win.[46]
On 30 November 2019, Watford went away to
Southampton and lost 2–1. The next day, Flores was sacked after securing only a single victory in his second stint in charge.[47]
Third Getafe spell
On 6 October 2021, Flores was presented as Getafe manager for the third time, after
Míchel was dismissed for not winning any of the first eight games of
the season.[48] His team were eliminated from the
second round of the Spanish Cup on 16 December with a 5–0 loss at
Atlético Baleares of the
Primera Federación,[49] but seventeen days later achieved the first victory over Real Madrid in nearly nine years with a lone goal by
Enes Ünal.[50]
Flores' side finished 15th in his first campaign back.[51] On 27 April 2023, he was relieved of his duties as they fought relegation with
seven matches remaining, and was replaced by another returnee,
José Bordalás.[52]
During a match at Getafe on 30 March 2024, Sánchez Flores, of
Spanish Gypsy ancestry, was the victim of racist abuse from behind the coaches' benches. As a result of chants against
Marcos Acuña in the same game, the hosts were ordered to close sections of their stadium for three matches and fined. However, as the insults against the manager were not mentioned in the referee's report, no action was taken with regards to them.[56]
On 18 May 2024, having secured survival, Sánchez Flores announced he would be leaving the
Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium on 30 June.[57]
Personal life
Flores is the nephew of
flamenco singer and dancer
Lola Flores.[58] His father,
Isidro, was also a footballer and a defender,[59] and
Alfredo Di Stéfano was his godfather.[60] His brother and son, named Isidro and Enrique respectively, played football at lower levels.[61][62]
^"1–2: El Valencia ya es líder" [1–2: Valencia have climbed to first place]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 11 September 1986. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
^Domínguez, Miguel (3 November 1986).
"2–1: Este Valencia sigue sin convencer" [2–1: This Valencia still fail to convince]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
^Domínguez, Miguel (17 November 1986).
"3–1: Traca del Valencia" [3–1: Valencia fireworks]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
^Domínguez, Miguel (29 December 1986).
"1–0: Quique volvió a salvar al Valencia" [1–0: Quique rescued Valencia again]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
^Domínguez, Miguel (6 April 1987).
"3–1: El Valencia fulminó al Logroñés" [3–1: Valencia blindsided Logroñés]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
^
abDomínguez, Miguel (31 May 1987).
"2–0: El Valencia ya está en Primera" [2–0: Valencia are already in Primera]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
^Mínguez, Antonio (11 June 1995).
"Un pasillo y muchos bostezos" [Guard of honour and yawns aplenty]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 September 2015.
^Perearnau, Francesc (30 October 1986).
"¡¡¡Campeones!!!" [Champions!!!]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 June 2014.