Coaching Career
Flores followed in the footsteps of one of his predecessors at Valencia, Rafael Benítez, by taking charge of Real Madrid's youth teams. After winning plaudits during his time there, he was approached about the manager's job at newly-promoted top flight club Getafe CF, also in Madrid.
After an impressive 2004–05 season with Getafe, which managed to finish a respectable 13th place, Flores was given the opportunity to coach former club Valencia, succeeding Claudio Ranieri. In his first season, he guided the club to the third place, with the subsequent UEFA Champions League qualification, where Valencia reached the quarter-finals, being knocked out by Chelsea. In May 2007, the Che guaranteed a top-four league finish, and consequently a place in the next Champions League.
On 29 October 2007, the Valencia board of directors fired Flores after a string of average results with poor performances. He was appointed as manager of S.L. Benfica on 24 May 2008.
On 8 June 2009 Flores left Benfica through contractual termination, after a third place in the league and winning the domestic league cup. On 23 October he was appointed at Atlético Madrid following the sacking of Abel Resino, signing a contract until 30 June 2010.
At the end of the 2009–10 campaign, Flores led Atlético to the 9th position in the domestic competition, but also to two cup finals: the UEFA Europa League against Fulham (2–1 win) and the Spanish Cup, lost to Sevilla FC. Frequently clashing with star striker Diego Forlán during 2010–11, he announced his departure from the Colchoneros before the season ended, with the team finally qualifying to the Europa League.
In early May 2011, Flores was linked with a move to FC Spartak Moscow. On 8 November he was named new coach of UAE Pro-League team Al Ahli Club (Dubai), replacing Ivan Hašek.
Read more about this topic: Quique Flores
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