Yannick Ferrera y Caro (born 24 September 1980) is a Belgian professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

. He is the head coach of

Egyptian Premier League The Egyptian Premier League (), also known as the Nile League () for sponsorship reasons, after the addition of title sponsor Nile Developments, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the highest level of the Egyptian football ...

club

Zamalek Zamalek ( , ''al zamalek'') is a ''qism'' (ward) within the West District (''hayy gharb'') in the Western Area of Cairo, Egypt. It is an affluent district on a man-made island which is geologically a part of the west bank of the Nile River, wit ...

Club career

In his early twenties, Ferrera enjoyed a brief career as a professional footballer, playing for Belgian sides

Beveren Beveren () is a former municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders which comprises the towns of Beveren, Doel, Haasdonk, Kallo, Kieldrecht, Melsele, Verrebroek and Vrasene. The port of the Waasland (Dutch: ''Waaslandhaven'') ...

Tubize Tubize (; ) is a municipality and city of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Tubize had a total population of 22,335. The total area is 32.66 km2 which gives a population density of 684 inhabita ...

, Ternat and Jette.

Managerial career

In 2004, Ferrera was appointed head coach of the

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

youth team, which at that time included

Romelu Lukaku Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli (; born 13 May 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club SSC Napoli, Napoli and the Belgium national football team, Belgium national team. Lukaku began h ...

and

Adnan Januzaj Adnan Januzaj (born 5 February 1995) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Las Palmas, on loan from Sevilla. Born and raised in Brussels, Januzaj began his career with Anderlecht before joining Manchester U ...

. In 2010, he joined the technical staff of AA Gent, serving under manager

Michel Preud'homme Michel Georges Jean Ghislain Preud'homme (born 24 January 1959) is a Belgian retired association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Currently, he is vic ...

, whom Ferrera later followed to Saudi Arabian club Al-Shabab. In 2012, Ferrera became manager of first league team

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

. One year later, he moved to

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. With more than 41,500 inhabitants, it is on ...

that was playing in the

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

. Under his leadership, STVV gained promotion to the highest level for the 2015–16 season. In September 2015, Ferrera was appointed manager at

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

. In spite of winning the domestic cup that season, he was sacked early into the 2016–17 season due to disputes with the board of directors. Ferrera was replaced by Aleksandar Janković. Janković's former club,

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

, immediately decided to hire Ferrera for two seasons as a replacement. On 14 October 2019, Ferrera was appointed as the new manager of

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

outfit

Al-Fateh ''Al-Fateh'' (, "The Conqueror") was an online children's magazine in Arabic. It began publication in September 2002, and its 108th issue was released in mid-September 2007. The magazine featured stories, poems, riddles, and puzzles. Criticism ...

. He left the club by mutual consent on 9 January 2022. On 21 October 2022, Ferrera was appointed manager of

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

club

Omonia Nicosia Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia (; ''Athlitikós Sýllogos Omónoia Lefkosías''), commonly known as Omonia Nicosia, or simply Omonia (also transliterated as Omonoia), is a Cypriot professional multi-sport club, established on 4 June 1948 in Nico ...

. He was sacked in February 2023 amidst disappointing results in the league. On 6 June 2023, Ferrera was appointed as manager of newly promoted Saudi Pro League side

Al-Riyadh Riyadh F.C. or Al-Riyadh () is a professional football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It currently plays in the Saudi Pro League (the first tier of professional football in Saudi Arabia). It was established in 1953 as Ahli Al-Riyadh, then ...

. On 20 September 2023, Ferrera was sacked by Al-Riyadh, with the club sitting in the relegation places. In March 2024, Ferrera joined RWD Molenbeek to help the club avoid relegation during the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. Despite a brief resurgence, RWDM was ultimately relegated. He was nonetheless extended for two more seasons to lead the team's return to the top division. After missing direct promotion in 2024–25 and entering the play-offs, RWDM and Ferrera parted ways. On 4 July 2025, Ferrera was appointed as head coach of Egyptian side

by signing a one-year contract.

Personal life

Ferrera was born in

Ukkel Uccle ( French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Ixelles, and Watermael-Boitsfort, as wel ...

to a Spanish father and an Italian mother. He retained his Spanish citizenship until 1992, when he was

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

as a Belgian. His father, Francisco, and his uncles,

Manu Manu may refer to: Religion Proto Indo European Mythology * Manu (Indo European Mythology) one of the mythical duo Manu and Yemo Ancient Mesopotamia * Manu the Great, a Chaldean god of fate Hinduism *Manu (Hinduism), Hindu progenitor of mank ...

and

Emilio Ferrera Emilio Ferrera (born 19 June 1967) is a Belgian football manager and former player, who manages the U21 squad of Gent. His last former club was OH Leuven in the Belgian First Division B. Before he also worked at Genk, where he was fired after ...

are all footballing coaches in Belgium.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Sint-Truiden *

: 2014–15 Standard Liège *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

: 2015–16 Individual * Saudi Professional League Manager of the Month: October 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrera, Yannick Living people 1980 births People from Uccle Belgian men's footballers Belgian football managers Belgian expatriate football managers Belgian people of Spanish descent Belgian people of Italian descent K.S.K. Beveren players Royale Union Tubize-Braine players Belgian Pro League players Royal Charleroi S.C. managers Standard Liège managers K.V. Mechelen managers Al Fateh SC managers AC Omonia managers Al-Riyadh SC managers Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Men's association football players not categorized by position Saudi Pro League managers Footballers from Brussels 21st-century Belgian sportsmen Challenger Pro League managers R.W.D. Molenbeek (2015) managers Zamalek SC managers Expatriate football managers in Egypt Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Egypt