Manuel Estiarte

Manel Estiarte Duocastella (born October 26, 1961, in Manresa) is a Spanish football coach and former water polo player. He is usually considered one of the two greatest water polo players of all time.

He has been a member of Pep Guardiola's technical staff at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

Water polo career National team Estiarte was born in Manresa, a municipality in Barcelona, Spain. He played for the national team for 23 years (between 1977 and 2000) and captained the side for 20 years. He made 580 appearances, and scored 1,561 goals.

His first international appearance was as a 15-year-old at the 1977 European Aquatics Championships in Jönköping, Sweden. At 18 years old, he made his Olympic debut at the 1980 Moscow Games, where he was the leading goalscorer - a feat he repeated at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and (jointly with Tibor Benedek) at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, with 21, 34, 27 and 22 goals, respectively. Estiarte holds the record for the most goals scored by a water polo player in Olympic history, with 127 goals.

He has participated in six Olympic Games, all consecutively (Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, and Sydney 2000). Estiarte is the second Spaniard to compete at six Olympic Games, after equestrian Luis Álvarez de Cervera. As of 2012, no other Spaniards have competed in six Olympics.

Estiarte is the first water polo player to compete at six Olympic Games. (While there is a case for Welshman Paul Radmilovic to be recognized as such, one of his appearances was the 1906 Intercalated Games, which are not considered 'official'.)

With the national squad, he reached the finals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics on home soil. Estiarte converted a penalty 42 seconds from full-time to put Spain ahead, but nine seconds later Italy equalised and went on to win 9-8 in extra time.

Four years later, he was part of the team that made up for this painful loss by winning gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, defeating Croatia 7-5 in the final.

He won the World Championship at Perth 1998 after finishing in second place at Perth 1991 and Rome 1994.

At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he was given the honour to carry the national flag of Spain during the opening ceremony, becoming the 19th water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Later he announced his retirement from the sport.

Clubs Club Natació Manresa (1975 – 1979) (Spain) Club Natació Barcelona (1979 – 1985) (Spain) Pallanuoto Pescara (1986 – 1989 / 1992 - 1999) (Italy) Rari Nantes Savona ( 1989 – 1991) (Italy) Club Natació Catalunya (1991 – 1992) (Spain) Club Natació Atlètic-Barceloneta (1999 – 2000) (Spain)

Football career Estiarte and Pep Guardiola, former manager of Manchester City, have known each other since the early 1990s. The pair met on the final day of the 1991-1992 La Liga season, when Guardiola, still a Barcelona player at the time, won the title, and Estiarte, a passionate Barcelona supporter, went to congratulate him. The pair remained in contact throughout both of their careers as athletes, and in 2008, Guardiola asked Estiarte if he could accompany him to Barcelona to assist him as head coach.

He was also Pep Guardiola's personal assistant at Bayern Munich from 2013 to 2016, and at Manchester City from 2016 to 2026. Estiarte's official title at the Premier League club was head of player support and protocol. Rosa Estiarte committed suicide in 1985 by jumping out of a window in their fourth-floor family home, which Manel witnessed. Manel is married and has two children, including a daughter named Rebecca.

In 2009, Estiarte released his autobiography, entitled Todos Mis Hermanos (All My Siblings), in which he recounts his personal and professional life, including the death of his sister Rosa.

Honors National team Olympic Games Gold (1): Atlanta 1996 Silver (1): Barcelona 1992 Fourth Place (3): Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Sydney 2000

World Championships Gold (1): Perth 1998. Silver (2): Perth 1991, Rome 1994.

Water Polo World Cup Bronze (3): Duisburg 1985, Barcelona 1991, Sydney 1999.

European Championships Silver (1): Athens 1991 Bronze (1): Sheffield 1993.

Clubs 2 European Cups: with C.N. Barcelona and Pescara. 3 European Cup Winners’ Cups: one with C.N. Barcelona and 2 with Pescara. 9 Leagues: 5 in Spain with C.N. Barcelona and 4 in Italy with Pescara. 11 Domestic Cups: 5 in Spain with C.N. Barcelona and 6 in Italy with Pescara. 4 European Supercups: 2 with C.N. Barcelona and 2 with Pescara.

Individual Distinctions Gold Insignia by C.N. Manresa in 1982. Title of "The Maradona of Water Polo" by Pescara in 1985. Best Water Polo Player in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992. Extraordinary Distinction of the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation in 1992. Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1993. Extraordinary Medal of Brilliance of the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation in 1996. Marca Leyenda (Marca Legend) Award in 1998. Prince of Asturias Sports Award in 2001.

Decorations Manel Estiarte was awarded with the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1993, and the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1996, the highest distinction of sporting merit in Spain. Additionally, he was granted the most prestigious domestic/international sports award in Spain, the Prince of Asturias Sports Award in 2001.