football after a few months. On 18 April 2018, Rufete was given his first managerial position at UD Ibiza of the Tercera División. His team missed out on promotion with a penalty shootout defeat to Atlético Levante UD in the play-off final on 24 June. Rufete returned to Espanyol as sporting director, and became their interim manager on 27 June 2020 when Abelardo Fernández was sacked from the last-placed club with six games to go. The next day, in his first professional game in charge, his side lost by a single goal at home to Real Madrid; he oversaw their first fall from the top flight since 1993. Personal life Rufete's son, Fran Pérez, is also a professional footballer. Managerial statistics Honours Club Valencia La Liga: 2001–02, 2003–04 UEFA Cup: 2003–04 UEFA Super Cup: 2004 Espanyol UEFA Cup runner-up: 2006–07 International Spain U18 UEFA European Under-18 Championship: 1995 References External links CiberChe stats and bio 1976 births Living people People from Vega Baja del Segura Sportspeople from the Province of Alicante Spanish footballers Footballers from the Valencian Community Association football wingers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players FC Barcelona C players FC Barcelona Atlètic players FC Barcelona players CD Toledo players RCD Mallorca players Málaga CF players Valencia CF players UEFA Cup winning players RCD Espanyol footballers Hércules CF players Spain youth international footballers Spain international footballers Spanish football managers La Liga managers Tercera División managers UD Ibiza managers RCD Espanyol managers