Where are they now? The 7 managers Gary Neville beat during his time at Valencia

While Gary Neville often gets mocked for his brief managerial stint at Valencia, he did manage to beat some high-profile managers during his time in Spain.

In total, Neville took charge of 28 games and managed to win 10, beating seven different managers in the process.

We’ve taken a closer look at those seven managers that Neville managed to beat and where they all are today.

Ernesto Valverde

Undoubtedly, the most high-profile manager that Neville managed to get the better of during his time in Spain.

While Valverde managed to beat Neville on two occasions with Athletic Bilbao, the Sky Sports pundit did win one of his clashes against the experienced manager.

“I remember we played three times against Athletic Bilbao, in the Europa League quarter-final and in a league game, and Ernesto Valverde was the coach,” Neville said on The Overlap.

“He played a different system than I thought he would and then he changed during the game, and I remember thinking that I was nowhere near that level.

“I felt massively inferior to him because I struggled to manage and watch the game from pitch level, especially compared to how I see the game in the gantry.”

The 60-year-old has established himself as one of the best managers in La Liga, having managed over 500 top-flight games in Spain.

After leaving Athletic Bilbao in 2017 to join Barcelona, Valverde is now back managing at the San Mames Stadium and currently sits fourth in La Liga.

READ: Where are they now? Ernesto Valverde’s first 11 signings as Barcelona manager

Constantin Galca

After failing to win any of his first nine La Liga matches, Neville finally won his first league game against Galca’s Espanyol side in February 2016.

Just a few months after losing against Neville, Galca was dismissed by Espanyol and the Romanian coach has since managed six different clubs.

Having had short spells in Saudi Arabia, Denmark and Poland, he’s currently in charge of Romanian side Universitatea Craiova who sit fifth in the Romanian SuperLiga.

Jose Ramon Sandoval

Impressively, Neville faced Sandoval on three separate occasions and managed to beat the former Granada in each of them by an aggregate score of 9-1.

Sandoval rarely tends to stick around in one place for long as after he left Granada in 2016, he’s had short stints with a number of other Spanish sides.

Coincidentally, he returned to Granada for a second spell in March last season but left at the end of the campaign after failing to save them from relegation.

As of writing, he’s currently without a job.

Quique Setien

Neville faced Setien across two legs in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals in 2015-16 and managed to get the better of him.

After drawing the first leg against Las Palmas, Valencia produced a spirited performance in the away leg and won 1-0 to advance to the semi-final.

Since losing against Neville, Setien has predominately been managing in Spain, having had spells with Betis, Barcelona and Villarreal.

Like Neville at Valencia, he didn’t last long in the Barcelona hot seat as he oversaw their humiliating 8-2 loss against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and was sacked a few days later.

Following a year with Villarreal, the 66-year-old recently took charge of Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan.

READ NEXT: Remembering Valencia’s golden era of Mendieta, Claudio Lopez & Aimar

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Javi Gracia

Premier League fans will be familiar with Gracia from his previous spells with Watford and more recently, Leeds United.

Neville managed to beat the Spanish coach while he was in charge of Malaga back in 2016.

Coincidentally, Valencia ended up hiring Gracia a few years after Neville had beaten him, although he only lasted one season at the Mestalla Stadium.

After failing to turn the tide at Leeds United in the backend of 2022-23, Gracia has been out of work since he departed Elland Road in May last year.

Zoran Barisic

Neville managed to do the double over Barisic as Valencia beat Rapid Vienna over two legs in the Europa League round of 32 by an aggregate score of 10-0.

Barisic left Rapid Vienna at the end of 2015-16 and had stints with Karabukspor and Olimpija Ljubljana before he then re-joined the Austrian side in 2022.

Following his second stint in Vienna coming to an end in November last year, Barisic has been out of work since.

David Movilla

Neville got the better of Movilla’s Barakaldo side in the fourth round of the Copa del Rey.

Since then, the 44-year-old has continued to work in the Spanish lower leagues and he most recently managed Zamora who compete in the Spanish third division.