Luis Fernandez (born on October 2, 1959 in Tarifa, Spain) is a former French football (soccer) defensive midfielder who retired in 1993 to become a manager. He has managed AS Cannes and Paris Saint-Germain among other clubs, and is the individual credited with bringing Ronaldinho to Europe. Currently he is the head coach of Beitar Jerusalem. October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Collection of photographs from Tarifa Tarifa is a small town near the southernmost part of Spain. ... Football (soccer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... In football (soccer) a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders. ... AS Cannes is a French football club, founded in 1909. ... Paris Saint-Germain FC, or PSG, is a French football club based in Paris. ... Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born March 21, 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil) is a footballer more commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho due to his citizenship in the Rio Grande do Sul region of Brazil. ... Beitar Jerusalem Football Club (מועדון כדורגל ניתר ירושלים; Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayyimalso known as Beitar Hot Yerushalayyim after their sponsors from the Hot cable company): Located in the Malkha complex in Jerusalem is one of the most popular sports franchises in the Middle East, as well as one of...

As an active player, Fernandez got 60 international caps and 6 goals for the French national team, between 1982 and 1992. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Cap (sport). ... First international Belgium 3 - 3 France (Brussels, Belgium; 1 May 1904) Largest win France 10 - 0 Azerbaijan (Paris, France; 6 September 1995) Worst defeat Denmark 17 - 1 France (London, England; 19 October 1908) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1930) Best result Winners, 1998 European Championship Appearances 6 (First in...

Biography

Player

It was at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) that Luis Fernandez signed his first professional contract, at 19 years of age. Quickly he established himself as a solid defensive midfielder, excelling in winning the ball, but also capable of precise passing, and at the end of the year 1982 he was called up for the French national team and debuted against the Netherlands on November 10, 1982. At only 23 years, Luis Fernandez was immediately an important part of the team that only months earlier had been semi-finalists of the 1982 World Cup. He formed the national midfield with such French national greats as Jean Tigana in the defensive midfield, and the offensive players Alain Giresse and Michel Platini, a midfield that became known as the "magic square". With the national team, Fernandez won the Euro 1984 at home in France, and reached the semi-final of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. At the time of this tournament The 1982 Football World Cup was held in Spain by decision of FIFA in July 1966, in the same session where FIFA gave the right to host the tournament`s edition of 1974 and 1978 to West Germany and Argentina. ... Jean Tigana (b. ... Michel Platini (born June 21, 1955 in Jœuf, Département Meurthe-et-Moselle) is a former French football player, widely regarded as one of the most elegant midfielders of his generation. ... The 1984 European Football Championship (Euro 84) final tournament was held in France. ... The 1986 Football World Cup was held in Mexico from May 31 to June 29. ...

After the elimination from the 1986 World Cup, and just after he had won the French Ligue 1 championship with PSG, Fernandez made the decision to join Jean-Luc Lagardere's team Racing Club de Paris. But in spite of a team that was strong on paper, the club and Fernandez didn't succeed, and he left Racing after three seasons. Following the 1986 World Cup, the French national team did not manage to qualify for Euro 1988 and the 1990 World Cup. Ligue 1 is the top division of French football, one of two divisions making up the LFP, the other being Ligue 2. ... Jean-Luc Lagardère (February 10, 1928 - March 14, 2003) was a major French businessman. ... Racing Club de Paris is a football club based in Paris. ... Ruud Gullit lifts the trophy after winning the cup with the Netherlands The 1988 European Football Championship (Euro 88) final tournament was held at West Germany. ... The 1990 Football World Cup was held in Italy. ...

From Racing, Fernandez went to AC Cannes in 1989, a more modest club with a friendlier environment. He was still a part of the French national team in spite of a declining physique. Not a starting player under new national team manager Michel Platini, Fernandez would play the role of a late joker, with the job to clinch a result at the end of the match. Fernandez took part in the Euro 1992, where France were eliminated in the group stage, and Fernandez decided to end his international career. On th club level AC Cannes were relegated to Ligue 2 at the end of the 1991-1992 season, but Fernandez decided to remain with the club and end his career when his contract ran out. But Fernadez wasn't allowed a slow retirement, when after a few weeks, AC Cannes decided to entrust Luis Fernandez with the post of manager. Fernandez thus finished the season as a coach-player, and led Cannes back to Ligue 1 at the end of the season, and definitively switched to the career as a manager. The 1992 European Football Championship (Euro 92) final tournament was hosted by Sweden. ... Ligue 2 is the second division of French football. ...

Manager

After the promotion of AC Cannes to the Ligue 1, Luis Fernandez continued his work at the club and qualified for the UEFA Cup. He won the Best Trainer of Ligue 1 award at the end of the season 1993-1994, on grounds of Fernandez' alluring philosphy of offensive tactics with a use of young players. The profile of Fernandez particularly interested Paris Saint-Germain. Despite winning the Ligue 1 championship and a good run in the European Cup, PSG failed to play attractive football, partly because of the Portuguese trainer Artur Jorge, who applied a more rigid strategic system. The board of PSG saw in Fernandez the ideal manager to form the image of the club. UEFA Cup logo The UEFA Cup is a football competition for European club teams. ... Champions League Logo The UEFA Champions League is an annual international inter-club football competition between Europes most successful clubs, regarded as the most prestigious club trophy in the sport. ... Artur Jorge Braga Melo Teixeira (born February 13, 1946, in Porto) is a Portuguese football coach and a former football player. ...

The first season of Luis Fernandez in Paris Saint-Germain was a success. Even though PSG was quickly outdistanced in the Ligue 1 championship race by an irresistible FC Nantes side, PSG managed to win the two national Cups, the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue, as well as an impressive performance in the UEFA Champions League concluded by an elimination in the semi-finals by AC Milan. The strongest displays by Fernandez and the PSG team being the quarterfinal win, over two matches, against the great FC Barcelona side of Johan Cruyff. The second season at PSG, saw the beginning of the end for Fernandez. Outdistanced once more in Ligue 1, PSG found a fresh breath of air in the European competitions, where they won the European Cup Winners Cup after victory in the final against Rapid Vienna, making Fernandez the first French trainer victorious in one of the Cups of Europe. This prestigious victory was not sufficient to keep Fernandez in the PSG seat however, following the the missed championship, Fernandez left Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the 1995-1996 season. FC Nantes Atlantique is a French football team, playing in the city of Nantes. ... The Coupe de France, the French Cup is a football cup competition open to both professional and amateur clubs in France. ... The Coupe de la Ligue, the French League Cup is an elimination cup competition. ... The UEFA Champions League is an annual club football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for the most successful football clubs in Europe. ... AC Milan is an Italian football club. ... FC Barcelona is a polideportivo in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, British and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper. ... Johan Cruijff Johan Cruijff (born April 25, 1947 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch football trainer/coach and former star player. ... The Cup Winners Cup was a football club competition between the winners of the European domestic league cups. ... The Sportklub Rapid Wien or SK Rapid Wien is one of the two large football teams in Vienna. ...

Fernandez was then contacted by Athletic Bilbao from the Spanish La Liga, a club Fernandez managed to qualify for the Champions League, and where he would spend four seasons. Liga de Fútbol Profesional La Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) (English: League of Professional Football ), commonly known as La Liga, is the professional football league in Spain. ...

In 2000, Fernandez returned to France and in December that year he once more took the seat at PSG, replacing Philippe Bergeroo. Even though he was in charge of a team of such stars as Jay-Jay Okocha, Nicolas Anelka and especially Ronaldinho, Fernandez never got the results to satisfy the ambitions of the club. In spite of the support of the fans with whom his popularity always remained very strong, Luis Fernandez was fired at the end of the 2002-2003 season, after two and half years. Agustine Azuka Jay-Jay Okocha (born August 14, 1973 in Enugu) is a Nigerian football (soccer) midfielder. ... Nicolas Sebastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979 in Versailles) is a French football player playing in the forward position, currently for Fenerbahçe. ... Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born March 21, 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil) is a footballer more commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho due to his citizenship in the Rio Grande do Sul region of Brazil. ...

Six months later, Luis was in Spain, brought into the RCD Espanyol team in December 2003 to save them from near certain relegation, and at the end of the season Fernandez had succeeded in keeping the club in the Spanish top flight. After one year of inactivity, Luis Fernandez took a more low-profile job in June 2005 as the manager of Al Rayyan Sports Club in Qatar, a club which he decided to leave in November 2005 in order to join the Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem in the capacity of general manager as well as trainer. RCD Espanyol de Barcelona (Catalan: Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol, Spanish: Real Club Deportivo Espanyol (not Español)) is a football club based in Barcelona, Spain. ... Beitar Jerusalem Football Club (מועדון כדורגל ניתר ירושלים; Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayyimalso known as Beitar Hot Yerushalayyim after their sponsors from the Hot cable company): Located in the Malkha complex in Jerusalem is one of the most popular sports franchises in the Middle East, as well as one of...

Clubs

Player

• 1969-1970: HAVE Minguettes, France.
• 1970-1978: St-Priest, France
• 1978-1986: Paris Saint-Germain, France
• 1986-1989: RC Paris, France
• 1989-1993: AC Cannes, France

Manager

• 1992-1994: AC Cannes, France
• 1994-1996: Paris Saint-Germain, France
• 1996-2000: Athletic Bilbao, Spain
• 2000-2003: Paris Saint-Germain, France
• 2003-2004: Espanyol Barcelona, Spain.
• 2005-2005: Al Rayyan, Qatar
• 2005-: Betar Jerusalem, Israel

Honours

Player

• Winner
  • Coupe de France: 1982 and 1983, with PSG.
  • Euro 1984, with the French national team.
  • Artemio Franchi Trophy: 1985, with the French national team.
  • French Ligue 1: 1986, with PSG.
• Runner-up
  • Coupe de France: 1985, with PSG.

Manager The Coupe de France, the French Cup is a football cup competition open to both professional and amateur clubs in France. ... Paris Saint-Germain FC, or PSG, is a French football club based in Paris. ... The 1984 European Football Championship (Euro 84) final tournament was held in France. ... Ligue 1 is the top division of French football, one of two divisions making up the LFP, the other being Ligue 2. ... The Coupe de France, the French Cup is a football cup competition open to both professional and amateur clubs in France. ...

• Winner
  • Coupe de France: 1995, with PSG.
  • Coupe de la Ligue: 1995, with PSG.
  • Cup Winners' Cup: 1996, with PSG.
  • Trophée des Champions: 1996, with PSG.
  • UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2001, with PSG.
• Runner-up
  • French Ligue 1: 1996, with PSG.
  • Spanish La Liga: 1998, with Athletic Bilbao.