Manuel Preciado Dies One Day After Being Hired As Villarreal Manager

Just 24 hours after being named Villarreal’s new manager, Manuel Preciado passed away on Thursday of an apparent heart attack. The 54-year-old spent almost six years managing Sporting Gijon before being fired in January and was not the Villarreal manager long enough to even be presented to the media.

“The coach Manuel Preciado died overnight in Valencia as a result of a heart attack,” Villarreal confirmed on Thursday. “Villarreal wants to express its deepest sorrow at the sad loss and wants to offer its condolences to his family and all his relatives.”

Preciado earned Sporting promotion to La Liga in just his second year with the club, but might best be remembered for leading them to a defeat of Real Madrid last April, which ended Jose Mourinho’s eight-year home unbeaten streak. His 232 matches in charge of Sporting made him the club’s second longest tenured manager.

A statement from Sporting read: “With deepest regret, Sporting Gijon wish to express their sorrow at this sad loss, for someone who formed an integral part of this club’s history, and send their deepest condolences to his family in this time of grief.”

Prior to managing Sporting, Preciado led Racing Santander, Murcia and Levante, among others. The Spaniard also had a long playing career that saw him come up with Racing before moving onto Linares, Mallorca and Alaves.