Lorenzo Serra Ferrer
AEK coach Lorenzo Serra Ferrer (©Getty Images)
Date of birth: 5 March 1953
Nationality: Spanish
Coaching career: UD Poblense, RCD Mallorca, Real Betis Balompié, FC Barcelona, AEK Athens FC
Like Arrigo Sacchi and Arsène Wenger, Lorenzo Serra Ferrer is one of the rare breed of top coaches never to have played at a high level. The Spaniard spent his playing days on the lower rungs of the footballing ladder in Mallorca before turning his attention to coaching as his career began to wind down. Starting at UD Poblense, he guided them to promotion to the Segunda B División before switching to RCD Mallorca in 1983.
Always on the brink of the Primera División, Mallorca were immersed in a cycle of relegation and promotion during Serra Ferrer's decade in charge as they battled to establish themselves in the Spanish top flight. They finished an impressive sixth in 1986/87, and in 1993 their coach moved to Segunda División team Real Betis Balompié. He guided them to promotion in his debut season and they soon began to make waves, finishing third ahead of FC Barcelona in their first season back and reaching the Copa del Rey final two years later, where they were unlucky to lose 3-2 to Barça.
The Catalan giants were clearly impressed by Serra Ferrer, however, and coaxed him to Camp Nou in 1997 to take a role as youth coach under Louis van Gaal. When the Dutchman was sacked in 2000, it was the Mallorcan that was handed the reins until April 2001 when he reverted to his youth-team role. He returned to top-flight coaching in 2004 and guided Betis to the best season in their history, winning the Copa del Rey and finishing fourth in the league to earn a UEFA Champions League place. There they defeated much-fancied Chelsea FC but it was a rare high in a poor season. When AEK Athens FC offered Serra Ferrer a fresh challenge during summer 2006 he accepted - guiding them to second place in his first season.
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