José Manuel Esnal

Mané
Personal information
Full name	José Manuel Esnal Pardo
Date of birth	(1950-03-25) 25 March 1950
Place of birth	Balmaseda, Spain
Teams managed
Years	Team
1979–1981	Balmaseda
1980–1981	Basque Country (youth)
1981–1982	Barakaldo
1982–1984	Sestao
1984–1985	Alavés
1985–1987	Figueres
1987–1988	Basque Country (youth)
1988–1995	Lleida
1995–1996	Mallorca
1996–1997	Levante
1997–2003	Alavés
2005–2006	Levante
2006–2007	Athletic Bilbao
2008–2009	Espanyol

José Manuel Esnal Pardo (born 25 March 1950 in Balmaseda, Basque Country), commonly known as Mané, is a Spanish football manager.

His career was mostly associated to Lleida and Alavés, coaching the latter in five La Liga seasons and taking it to the 2001 UEFA Cup Final.

Football career

Early years / Lleida

Mané started coaching in his late 20's, his first job being with his hometown club. Safe for two years with UE Figueres, he worked exclusively in the Basque Country area during this time.

In 1988 Mané returned to Catalonia and joined UE Lleida, taking the club from Segunda División B to La Liga in only four years. In 1993–94, the team's second ever top flight experience, in spite of a 1–0 away win against FC Barcelona and a 2–1 success against Real Madrid at the Camp d´Esports, relegation befell, after only five more wins in the season.

Lleida finished third in Segunda División in the following campaign, but lost in the subsequent promotion playoffs against Sporting de Gijón.

Alavés

After second division spells at RCD Mallorca (only 12 games) and Levante UD, Mané signed with Deportivo Alavés, returning to the team after coaching it in the 1984–85 season in the third division. In his first campaign in his second spell he led them to the league championship, adding a semifinal presence in the Copa del Rey after ousting Real Madrid in the round-of-16 and Deportivo de La Coruña in the quarter-finals.

In 1999–2000, with a team that included Basque Julio Salinas, Mané led Alavés to its best classification ever in the top flight, sixth, with the subsequent qualification to the UEFA Cup – season highlights included winning both matches against Barcelona (2–1, 1–0) and a 2–1 home win against eventual champions Deportivo. In the European campaign, Alavés reached the final after disposing of, amongst others, Inter Milan and fellow Spanish side Rayo Vallecano, meeting Liverpool in the decisive match: despite being 0–2 and 1–3 down, the club embarked on a spirited comeback and took the game to extra time, eventually losing after an own goal by Delfí Geli;^[1] at the season's closure, he was voted Spanish Manager of the Year by magazine Don Balón.^[2]

In the 2001–02 season Mané led Alavés to its second UEFA Cup qualification, with a seventh-place finish in the league. However, on 27 April 2003, he was sacked following a 0–3 away loss against Valencia CF, being replaced by Jesús Aranguren as the campaign ended in relegation and the team returned to the second division after five years.

Late career

Mané helped another former team, Levante, promote to the top level in 2006, after a one-year absence. In the following season, he returned to his native region after being appointed as Athletic Bilbao as a replacement for sacked Félix Sarriugarte,^[3] with the Lions eventually ranking 17th, being the first team above the relegation zone.

Mané's last job was in the 2008–09 campaign, as he was one of three coaches at RCD Espanyol, with the team also eventually avoiding top division relegation.^[4]