Lluís Carreras

Lluís Carreras Ferrer (born 24 September 1972) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mostly as a left-back but also as a defensive midfielder. He is currently a manager.

He started his career with Barcelona, without much success, and went on to amass La Liga totals of 169 matches and eight goals in representation of six other clubs. He added 149 games and 25 goals in the Segunda División, over six seasons.

After retiring, Carreras became a coach and guided Sabadell to promotion to Segunda División in the first of his three seasons. He also managed Mallorca, Zaragoza and Gimnàstic de Tarragona, all of them in the Spanish second tier.

Playing career Born in Sant Pol de Mar, Barcelona, Catalonia, Carreras was a product of Barcelona's famed youth system, La Masia. He made his first-team debut on 4 April 1993 in a 3–0 home win against Logroñés, in what would be his only La Liga match of the season.

After two consecutive loans, at Real Oviedo and Racing de Santander, Carreras returned to Barça. Although he appeared regularly in 1995–96's league, they came out empty in silverware.

Carreras then lived his most steady period at Mallorca, although never an undisputed starter. He achieved top-flight promotion in his first season, totalling 128 competitive appearances during his spell in the Balearic Islands.

Subsequently, Carreras had similar experiences with both Atlético Madrid and Alavés. He featured regularly in both clubs' promotion from Segunda División, but saw very little time the following campaigns; in between, he spent 2003–04 with Real Madrid also in the top division.

Carreras' career would end on a sour note. When playing for Basque Country's Alavés, he clashed with eccentric owner/chairman/manager Dmitry Piterman; teammate Roberto Bonano, who stepped up in his defence, was also suspended.

Coaching career After retiring, Carreras returned to his last club to have his first head coaching experience in 2009, with the reserves in the Tercera División. In his debut campaign at the helm of Sabadell, he led them to promotion to the second tier 18 years later.

On 30 May 2013, in spite of avoiding relegation for the second time in a row, Carreras resigned amid rumors he could sign for a top team in the same league. It finally happened on 26 February of the following year when he was appointed at the helm of RCD Mallorca, replacing the fired José Luis Oltra.

Carreras was relieved of his duties on 20 May 2014, having won only ten points out of 36. On 27 December 2015 he was named Real Zaragoza manager but, after failing to reach the play-off positions with a 6–2 loss at already relegated Llagostera in the last matchday of the season, he resigned.

On 21 June 2017, Carreras signed a two-year contract with another second-division club, Gimnàstic de Tarragona. He achieved one draw and three losses in four games, then was dismissed.

Carreras was hired by a foreign club for the first time in December 2018, when Japan's Sagan Tosu named him as manager for the upcoming season; they had recently secured the high-profile transfer of his former Atlético teammate Fernando Torres. He resigned the following 5 May, with the side last-placed having scored just once in their first ten J1 League matches.

Carreras later worked as a pundit. He was also the sporting director in the staff presented by candidate Toni Freixa in the 2021 Barcelona presidential elections.

Managerial statistics

+ Managerial record by team and tenure TeamNatFromToRecord Alavés B12 February 200929 June 2010 Sabadell29 June 201030 May 2013 Mallorca26 February 201420 May 2014 Sagan Tosu22 December 201830 April 2019 Total —

Honours Barcelona La Liga: 1992–93

Mallorca Supercopa de España: 1998

Atlético Madrid Segunda División: 2001–02

Spain U21 UEFA European Under-21 Championship third place: 1994