Ángel Oliva Beltrán (born 8 August 1961) is a Spanish retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender, and later worked as a manager.

Playing career

Oliva was born in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, capital of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

and of the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

, but began his career in 1980 with

FC Andorra Futbol Club Andorra is a professional football club based in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, that currently competes in , in the Spanish league system. The club was founded in 1942 and currently plays its home fixtures at Estadi Nacional. In spite ...

. Despite its name, and location in the principality of the same name, Andorra play in the Spanish league system, and were in

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

during Oliva's sole season with the club. He joined fellow third tier side

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

in 1981, and spent the next six seasons with the Catalan club. They won promotion to the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

in 1986–87, and Oliva's part in this success earned him a move to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

. He left Lleida after 216 appearances and twelve goals in all competitions. Cádiz flirted with relegation throughout Oliva's time with the club, needing a playoff to stay up on two occasions. Oliva scored in the shoot-out as they beat

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

on penalties in 1990–91, and also helped them triumph over

Figueres Figueres (; ) is the capital city of Alt Empordà county, in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Dalí Theatre and Museum, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which att ...

the following year. They finally were relegated in 1992–93, and Oliva stayed for one season in the second tier, in which they suffered a second consecutive relegation. He left Cádiz in 1994 with 243 appearances and nine goals in all competitions, including seven goals in 194 top flight matches. His final club was

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

, with whom he spent one season in Segunda División B, before retiring in 1995 as he approached his 34th birthday.

Coaching career

After his retirement, Oliva returned to

as head coach of their

B team B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It represent ...

during the 1997–98 Tercera División season, at the end of which they were relegated. He returned for a somewhat more successful second season in charge of Cádiz B in 2001–02, leading them to the Primera Regional de Andalusia title. In 2005, he was appointed as head coach of Arcos in the

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

, a post he held for three years. He left the club after they were relegated in 2007–08. For 2008–09, he joined newly promoted

Ronda Ronda () is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliffside location and a deep canyon that ca ...

, and lead them to a 12th-place finish, which was good enough to keep their place in the Tercera División. In the 2009–10 season, Oliva had a third spell at Cádiz B, guiding them to 10th in the Tercera División. After a year away from management, Oliva returned for a second spell with Arcos, who had just returned to the Tercera División, in 2011. Under his guidance, they avoided relegation in 15th place. He revisited another former club by rejoining Ronda in 2013, guiding them to Tercera División safety in the next two seasons. In the summer of 2017, Oliva was appointed as head coach of Tercera División side

Sariñena Sariñena is a municipality in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. It is located in the Monegros comarca, near the Sierra de Alcubierre range. The Baroque monastery of Nuestra Señora de las Fuentes is located in the municipal term. Villag ...

. He was dismissed in February 2018 with the club ninth in the table, twelve points shy of the promotion play-off places.

Honours

Manager

Cádiz B * Primera Regional de Andalusia: 2001–02

Career statistics

As a player

:1. Appearances in the 1983

Copa de la Liga The Copa de la Liga (League Cup in Spanish) was a Spanish football tournament created in 1982. Due to time constraints, saturation and club pressure, the competition only lasted four years, being cancelled in 1986. Winning the trophy helped two ...

Segunda División B :2. Appearances in the 1984

Segunda División B :3. Appearances in the 1985

Segunda División B :4. Appearances in the 1990–91 La Liga relegation playoff :5. Appearance in the 1991–92 La Liga relegation playoff

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliva, Angel 1961 births Living people Footballers from Zaragoza Spanish men's footballers Men's association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Andorra Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Andorra FC Andorra players UE Lleida players Cádiz CF players CD San Fernando players Spanish football managers Tercera División managers 20th-century Spanish sportsmen