Luis Milla

Luis Milla
Personal information
Full name Luis Milla Aspas
Date of birth (1966-03-12) 12 March 1966
Place of birth Teruel, Spain
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Defensive midfielder
Youth career
1982–1983 Teruel
1983–1985 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1988 Barcelona B 40 (5)
1984–1990 Barcelona 54 (2)
1990–1997 Real Madrid 165 (3)
1997–2001 Valencia 79 (1)
Total 338 (11)
National team
1989–1990 Spain 3 (0)
Teams managed
2006–2007 Puçol
2007–2008 Getafe (assistant)
2008–2010 Spain U19
2009 Spain U20
2010–2012 Spain U21
2012 Spain U23
2013 Al Jazira
2015–2016 Lugo
2016 Zaragoza

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Milla and the second or maternal family name is Aspas.

Luis Milla Aspas (born 12 March 1966) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and most recently the coach of Real Zaragoza.

He represented three teams – including both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid – during a 16-year-professional career, where he won three La Liga titles (one with the former and two with the latter) and amassed totals of 337 games and 11 goals.

Milla later worked as a manager, being in charge of Spain's youth teams for several years.

Playing career

Milla was born in Teruel, Aragon. After finishing his football formation with FC Barcelona he made his La Liga debuts in 1984–85, scoring in his only appearance of the season, against Real Zaragoza, as Barça pitched in a team majorly composed of youth players due to a general professional's strike.[1]

Definitely promoted to the first team in 1988, Milla would be involved two years later in a sour contract renewal dispute with the board of directors and manager Johan Cruyff,[2] which eventually finished with his free transfer to Real Madrid. He was seriously injured in his debut campaign, but bounced to back to be an important first-team element in the conquest of two leagues and one Copa del Rey, being fairly used even after the 1994 purchase of Fernando Redondo.[3]

Milla finished his career in June 2001 after four years at Valencia CF, with more than 400 official appearances as a professional. During a three-month period beginning in late 1989, he earned himself three caps for the Spanish national team, the first against Hungary in a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifier.[4]

Coaching career

Milla was first involved in professional coaching in 2007–08, assisting former Barcelona and Madrid teammate Michael Laudrup at Getafe CF.[5] In the ensuing summer he was named the national under-19's manager, after Vicente del Bosque's appointment as the senior manager.

In his first tournament, the 2009 UEFA European championship, the team did not progress through the group stage. In the 2010 edition in France, however, he led Spain to the final, which ended in defeat to the hosts.

Later in the same year, Milla replaced Juan Ramón López Caro at the helm of the under-21 side. Despite finding a delicate situation upon his arrival, he managed to qualify for the 2011 European championship, after defeating Croatia in a two-legged play-off.

In the final stages in Denmark, Milla led the Spanish under-21s to their third title, after only conceding two goals in five games (four wins and only one draw). He was sacked after his team failed to qualify from the group phase at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[6]

In February 2013, Milla was appointed at UAE Pro League's Al Jazira Club. His first match in charge was a 1–3 loss to Tractor Sazi F.C. for the season's AFC Champions League.

In June 2016, Milla was appointed at fellow Segunda División side Zaragoza.[7]However after only four months in charge he was sacked by the club after six matches without a win, leaving the club in 15th place.[8]

Honours

Player

Barcelona
Real Madrid
Valencia

Manager

Spain U21
Spain U20
Spain U19

References

  1. ↑ 4–0: ¡Viva la huelga! (4–0: Long live the strike!); Mundo Deportivo, 10 September 1984 (Spanish)
  2. ↑ Real Madrid biography (Spanish)
  3. ↑ ¿Luis Redondo o Fernando Milla? (Luis Redondo or Fernando Milla?); El País, 4 September 1995 (Spanish)
  4. ↑ "El remate de una gran faena" [Icing on tasty cake] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 16 November 1989. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "La ansiedad te bloquea" ("Anxiety blocks you"); El País, 30 September 2007 (Spanish)
  6. ↑ Milla paga el fracaso de Londres (Milla pays for London failure); El País, 7 August 2012 (Spanish)
  7. ↑ "Oficial: Luis Milla es el nuevo entrenador del Zaragoza" [Official: Luis Milla is the new coach of the Zaragoza] (in Spanish). Futbol. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  8. ↑ "El Real Zaragoza prescinde de los servicios de Luis Milla" [The Real Zaragoza dispenses of the services of Luis Milla] (in Spanish). Futbol. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  9. ↑ ITA – ESP 1:2 (0:0); Pescara 2009, 4 July 2009
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