Iñaki Tejada Fernández (born 19 November 1965) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder.

Iñaki Tejada
Personal information
Full name Iñaki Tejada Fernández
Date of birth (1965-11-19) 19 November 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth Bilbao, Spain
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Iturrigorri
1979–1985 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1988 Bilbao Athletic 13 (0)
1987Sestao (loan) 0 (0)
1987–1988Lemona (loan)
1988–1989 Marbella
1989–1990 Hospitalet
1990–1991 Gandía
1991–1992 Lugo 17 (0)
Total 30 (0)
Managerial career
1996–1998 Sporting Gijón (youth)
1998–2003 Sporting B (assistant)
2003–2012 Sporting Gijón (assistant)
2012 Sporting Gijón
2012–2014 Sporting B (assistant)
2014–2017 Sporting Gijón (assistant)
2017–2019 Alavés (assistant)
2020 Espanyol (analyst)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Basque Country, Tejada joined Athletic Bilbao's youth setup in 1979, aged 13, after starting it out at SD Iturrigorri.[1] Promoted to the reserves in 1985, he made his professional debut on 27 April of the following year, coming on as a second-half substitute for Roberto Martínez in a 1–6 Segunda División home loss against CD Málaga.

After appearing sparingly, Tejada served loans at Sestao River Club and SD Lemona, suffering a severe knee injury while at the latter. He would subsequently represent CA Marbella, CE L'Hospitalet, CF Gandía and CD Lugo, the latter in Segunda División B.[2]

After retiring at the age of just 27 due to injuries, Tejada joined Sporting de Gijón's youth setup as a coach. In 1998, he was appointed Marcelino García Toral's assistant at the club's reserve team, being also with the manager in the main squad.[3]

Tejada remained at Mareo after Marcelino's departure, being an assistant of both Ciriaco Cano and Manolo Preciado.[4] On 31 January 2012, after Preciado's dismissal, he was appointed manager of the first team.[5]

Tejada was in charge of the Asturians for two matches (a 1–1 draw against CA Osasuna and a 0–4 defeat against Valencia CF) before being replaced by Javier Clemente.[6]

Tejada was appointed Abelardo Fernández's assistant at Sporting B for the 2012–13 campaign. On 5 May 2014, after the manager's promotion to the first team, he remained as his second fiddle.[7]

From 2017 to 2019, he accompanied Abelardo Fernández once again, this time at Alavés. At the end of December 2019, he was appointed analyst under Abelardo at Espanyol.[8] They left the club in June 2020.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Iñaki Tejada" (in Spanish). Iturrigorri's official website. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Tejada triunfa en Gijón con la receta de Lezama" [Tejada triumphs in Gijón with Lezama's recipee] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 23 June 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Un pedacito de Lezama en Mareo" [A little piece of Lezama in Mareo] (in Spanish). Marca. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  4. ^ "La hora de Iñaki Tejada" [Iñaki Tejada's time] (in Spanish). El Comercio. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  5. ^ ""Lamento si hice algo mal, seré de este equipo siempre"" ["I'm sorry if i did something wrong, this will be my team for always"] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Javi Clemente piensa ya en sportinguista" [Javi Clemente already thinks as a sportinguista] (in Spanish). Sporting Gijón's official website. 13 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Abelardo sustituye a Sandoval hasta final de temporada" [Abelardo replaces Sandoval until the end of the season] (in Spanish). La Nueva España. 5 May 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  8. ^ Tomás será el segundo entrenador de Abelardo en el Espanyol, lne.es, 27 December 2019
  9. ^ Pintó el descenso, pintó el despido..., ole.com.ar, 27 June 2020
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