Antonio Tapia Flores (born 13 November 1959) is a Spanish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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Career

Born in

Baena Baena is a town and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain located in the Córdoba Province, Spain, province of Córdoba, Andalusia. It is situated near the on the slope of a hill southeast of Córdoba, Spain, Córdoba by road. The popu ...

, Córdoba, Tapia had an unassuming career as a footballer, only representing Atlético Malagueño and amateurs UD Fuengirola. Still not in his 30s, he began a coaching career with another club in

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, CD Mijas, continuing in the area (and the regional leagues) the following years, with Fuengirola and CD Los Boliches. In 1994, Tapia joined

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...

's coaching staff as assistant, staying there for two years before moving in the same capacity to neighbouring

Cádiz CF Cádiz Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Cádiz, Andalusia. Founded in 1910, the club competes in Segunda División, holding home games at Nuevo Mirandilla, with a seating capacity of 20,724. Salvadoran ...

. He had his first spell as head manager with

Polideportivo Ejido Poli Ejido 2012 Sociedad Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in El Ejido, Province of Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1969 and dissolved in 2012, it held home matches at '' Estadio Municipal Santo Domingo'' ...

– still in Andalusia – in 1997, helping the side promote to

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 ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, although he would be sacked 11 matches into the following campaign due to bad results. Tapia returned to Málaga's reserves in 2002, attaining another second division promotion. After Gregorio Manzano's dismissal midway through the 2004–05 season, he took the reins of the first team – in

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 ...

– being sacked in the same period of the following year and replaced by

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

Manolo Hierro, in an eventual relegation. For the following two years, Tapia had spells in the second level and his native region, with Ejido and soon-to-be defunct Granada 74 CF, with relegation in the latter. He then returned to the top flight and Málaga – freshly promoted– and almost led the team to

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

to the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, after finishing eighth. After refusing a new deal in order to listen to other offers, Tapia would eventually leave his place to Juan Ramón López Muñiz (who returned from

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

after just one year), signing with

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

of division two. After a series of bad results, the last a 1–0 loss at

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 6 September 1909, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025– ...

, he was sacked on 24 January 2010, only being in charge for six months. Exactly one year after his dismissal, Tapia was appointed at

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1922, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez L� ...

, becoming the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

side's third manager in the second division season. In late March, he too was relieved of his duties. Tapia returned to Málaga on 21 August 2012, joining the club's football directory as a sporting adviser.Tapia, nuevo asesor deportivo del Málaga (Tapia, new Málaga sporting adviser)
Marca, 20 August 2012 (in Spanish)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tapia, Antonio 1959 births Living people Footballers from the Province of Córdoba (Spain) Spanish men's footballers Men's association football players not categorized by position Atlético Malagueño players UD Fuengirola players Spanish football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers CD Los Boliches managers Polideportivo Ejido managers Atlético Malagueño managers Málaga CF managers Real Betis managers CD Tenerife managers 20th-century Spanish sportsmen