Ángel Merino: Movies & Box Office

Ángel Miguel Merino Torres (born 2 October 1966 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder, later transitioning into a managerial career. Standing at 1.82 metres tall, Merino spent the majority of his playing days in Spanish football, amassing La Liga totals of 293 games and 26 goals over nine seasons primarily with CA Osasuna and RC Celta de Vigo. He also featured in 158 matches and scored 16 goals in the Segunda División across three different clubs. Merino began his career in the youth setup of AV La Chimenea and Moscardó before joining CD Leganés in 1985. After two seasons in Segunda División B with Leganés, he made the leap to La Liga in 1988 when he signed with CA Osasuna, making his debut on 4 September 1988 in a 2–2 draw against Real Madrid, where he scored the last goal of the match. His best season came in 1992–93, when he netted six goals in 35 matches, helping Osasuna to a tenth-place finish. Following Osasuna's relegation in 1994, he moved to RC Celta de Vigo, where he became a first-choice midfielder during his three-year spell. From 1997 to 2002, Merino competed in the Segunda División with UD Las Palmas, Leganés (in a second stint), and Burgos CF, scoring 16 goals across these clubs and suffering administrative relegation with Burgos. He retired at the age of 36 after one final season in the third tier with AD Ceuta, having made 497 total appearances and scored 49 goals throughout his senior career.

After retiring, Merino returned to Osasuna in 2004, initially working with the youth teams. In March 2008, he was appointed manager of Osasuna B, the club's reserve team competing in division three, with his first match being a 1–0 away win over CF Palencia. After the reserve team's relegation from the third tier in 2013, Merino left Osasuna and took charge of neighbouring Peña Sport FC in the same capacity, though he was eventually relieved of his duties after suffering a similar fate there. In his personal life, Merino comes from a footballing family—his elder brother Julián was also a footballer who played as a defender for Leganés, with the two brothers even being teammates between the 1985–86 and 1987–88 seasons. His son, Mikel Merino, has followed in his footsteps and become a professional midfielder, most notably scoring a late winning goal for Spain at UEFA Euro 2024 in Stuttgart, with his celebration of running around the corner flag mirroring that of his father after a similar celebration for Osasuna in a UEFA Cup fixture at the same stadium back in 1991.