Sporting Gijon have appointed Joan Francesc Ferrer – better known as ‘Rubi’ – as their new head coach following the departure of Abelardo Fernandez.
The Asturian side announced the appointment of the experienced coach, who left Levante at the end of last season, on their twitter account, following on from Abelardo’s tearful farewell speech.
46-year-old Rubi played in the lower divisions as a winger but has gone on to coach a number of clubs including Sabadell, Girona, Valladolid and Levante.
Gijon-born Abelardo, who started his playing career at El Molinon before going on to play for Barcelona, had been instilled as boss in May 2014 but departed the club after five years across various roles following a run which brought just one victory in 17 matches, including 14 defeats.
Sporting sit 18th in the standings but are four points adrift of Valencia, who have played a game less, with the bottom three clubs, which also includes Granada and Osasuna, beginning to be cut off from the rest.
Abelardo’s last match in charge of the club was a 3-2 home defeat at the hands of Eibar on Sunday.
