Rafael "Rafa" Navarro Rivas (born 10 January 1972) 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 winger, and is a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Playing career

Born in

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

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 ...

, Navarro joined

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

's youth setup at the age of 17, from

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Córdoba, Andalusia, Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1954 after the dissolution of RCD Córdoba. Currently it plays ...

. In 1991, after finishing his formation, he returned to his previous club and was assigned to the main squad 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 ...

. For the 1995–96 campaign, Navarro moved straight 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 ...

, joining

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

after a one-year spell at

Real Jaén Real Jaén Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Jaén, Spain, Jaén, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1929 it plays in , holding home matches at ''Nuevo Estadio de La Vict ...

in the third division. However, he only featured in two

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

matches for the side before being loaned 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 ...

side

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Villarreal, in the Province of Castellón, Castellón province of easte ...

. After featuring sparingly, Navarro left the ''Rojiblancos'' and moved to

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...

in the third division, in 1997. The following year, he rejoined his first club Córdoba, featuring regularly and helping in the club's promotion to the second level in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. In December 2002, after being deemed surplus to requirements at the ''Blanquiverdes'', Navarro joined

AD Ceuta Asociación Deportiva Ceuta was a Spanish football team based in the autonomous city of Ceuta. Founded in 1996, its last season was 2011–12 in Segunda División B, holding home matches at '' Estadio Alfonso Murube'', with a capacity of 6,500. ...

in the third tier. He went on to resume his career mainly in that division in the following years, representing

CD Linares Club Deportivo Linares was a Spanish football team based in Linares, Jaén, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1990 and dissolved in July 2009, it played its last season in 2008–09, in Second Division B - Group 4. The team's ...

CD Villanueva Club Deportivo Villanueva was a Spanish football team based in Villanueva de Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It was founded in 1951 and dissolved in June 2009, it held home matches at ''Estadio San Miguel'', with a capacity o ...

Lucena CF Lucena Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. was a Spanish football team based in Lucena, Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1968, it was dissolved in 2015. History ''Lucena Club de Fútbol'' was founded in 1968. It was originally ...

and CD Iliturgi; he retired with the latter in 2007, aged 35.

Managerial career

In 2008, shortly after his retirement, Navarro worked as an assistant coach of Córdoba's B and first teams. He left in 2009, but returned in the following year as manager of the youth categories. In 2013, Navarro took over

CA Espeleño Club Atlético Espeleño is a Spanish football team based in Espiel, Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1982, it plays in , holding home matches at '' Campo Municipal de Espiel'', with a capacity of 1,000 people. S ...

in the regional leagues, achieving promotion to

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 ...

with the club in 2016. He left the club in June 2018, subsequently returning to Córdoba on 28 September of that year as a director of the youth setup. On 25 February 2019, Navarro was appointed at the helm of the ''Blanquiverdes' ''first team, replacing sacked

Curro Torres Cristóbal Emilio "Curro" Torres Ruiz (born 27 December 1976) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a right-back, currently manager of Estonian club FCI Levadia Tallinn. In his professional career, whose later years were blighted by se ...

. He left at the end of the season following their relegation to Segunda B but remained employed by the club.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Navarro, Rafa 1972 births Living people Footballers from Córdoba, Spain Spanish men's footballers Men's association football wingers Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Córdoba CF players Real Jaén footballers Sporting de Gijón players Villarreal CF players Recreativo de Huelva players AD Ceuta footballers CD Linares players Lucena CF players Spanish football managers Córdoba CF managers