Juan Pedro Benali Hammou (born 25 March 1969) is a Spanish professional football manager and executive who is the currently the head coach of Indian Super League club NorthEast United.
He spent his managerial and football executive careers in Spain, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia, the UAE, Japan, Finland and India.
Career
Benali made his coaching debut at Madrid-based club Las Rozas in 1997. In 1999, he joined Atlético Madrid as a technical assistant to Claudio Ranieri. From 2000 to 2001, he managed Ittihad Khemisset and SCC Mohammédia in the Moroccan top tier.[2]
In 2001, Benali joined Al-Gharafa in Qatar. After a short stint with CO Transports in Tunisia, he joined UAE Football League club Sharjah FC in 2001. He won the 2002–2003 UAE President's Cup with the club. In 2003, Benali joined Al-Khaleej Sports & Cultural Club and continued with the club till 2005.[2]
In 2006, Benali joined Japanese club Vissel Kobe as an assistant to Stuart Baxter. He served as a technical assistant at Racing de Santander from 2007 to 2008. Later he joined the coaching team of Baxter with the Finland national team until 2009. From 2009 to 2011, he served as the CEO of Maghreb de Fès in Morocco and director of football at Al Dhafra in the UAE. He oversaw the Spanish Sports Academy in the UAE from 2010 to 2014. Later, he headed the La Manga Club high performance soccer centre for two years.[3]
In 2016, Benali returned to Morocco as the sporting director of Botola club Moghreb Tétouan. Between 2017 and 2019, he served as the manager of Chabab Rif Al Hoceima in two stints.[4] Later, until 2020, he had a short stint as the sporting director of Moghreb Tétouan again.
In January 2020, Benali was appointed as the manager of Botola club Ittihad Tanger[5] and remained in charge until the end of the 2019–20 season.[6]
On 18 March 2021, Benali was appointed as the manager of Botola club RS Berkane. He was sacked on 23 June after a loss against Wydad AC[7]
On 18 April 2022, Benali was shortly re-appointed as the manager of Ittihad Tanger.[8]
NorthEast United
On 22 May 2023, Benali was appointed as the head coach of Indian Super League club NorthEast United on a one-year deal with an option to extend for another year.[9] He led NorthEast to the semifinals of the 2023 Durand Cup but lost to East Bengal on penalties.[10] On 3 January 2024, NorthEast United extended his contract until the end of the 2024–25 season with an option to extend for a further season.[11]
2024 Durand Cup
On 31 August 2024, NorthEast defeated Mohun Bagan SG 4–3 on penalties in the 2024 Durand Cup final. Benali became the first head coach to win a major trophy for the club.[12]
Personal life
Born in Spain, Benali is of Spanish-Moroccan descent.[13]
Managerial statistics
- As of match played 13 February 2025
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | 1 July 2017 | 1 February 2018 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 33.33 | [14] |
| Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | 12 September 2018 | 8 April 2019 | 21 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 23.81 | [15] |
| Ittihad Tanger | 26 January 2020 | 6 November 2020 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 29.41 | [16] |
| RS Berkane | 18 March 2021 | 23 June 2021 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 30.00 | [17] |
| Ittihad Tanger | 18 April 2022 | 11 July 2022 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 11.11 | [18] |
| NorthEast United | 22 May 2023 | Present | 57 | 24 | 19 | 14 | 42.11 | [19] |
| Total | 139 | 46 | 50 | 43 | 33.09 | |||
Honours
NorthEast United
References
- ^ Juan Pedro Benali at Soccerway
- ^ a b Verma, Keshava (27 May 2023). "Profile: Who is NorthEast United's new head coach Juan Pedro Benali?". khelnow.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024.
- ^ "La Manga Club lanza su centro de fútbol de Alto Rendimiento". apdrm.com (in Spanish). 17 February 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "El Chabab Rif despide a Juan Pedro Benali". BeSoccer (in Spanish). 1 February 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "Ittihad Tànger tiene nuevo entrenador". Infomarruecos (in Spanish). 28 January 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ Manchón, Martín (14 October 2020). "El milagro de Benali: "Pensé que me moría"". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "RSB Berkane Confirm Ibenge Appointment - Live from ground". the-sportsnation.com. 5 July 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Pedro Benali retrouve le banc de l'IRT" [Pedro Benali finds the IRT bench]. snrtnews.com (in French). 18 April 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "ISL 2023-24 NorthEast United appoint Juan Pedro Benali as head coach". sportskeeda.com. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "Hope in the Highlands: Why NorthEast United FC's Durand Cup campaign bodes well for their future". Indian Super League. 30 August 2023. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023.
- ^ "NorthEast United FC extends the contract of head coach Juan Pedro Benali". thebridge.in. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ a b "NorthEast United beats Mohun Bagan SG to win Durand Cup 2024". SPORTSTAR. The Hindu. 31 August 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ "De Redondela a Tánger". Atlántico. 27 February 2020.
- ^ "CR Al Hoceima » Fixtures & Results 2017/2018". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "CR Al Hoceima » Fixtures & Results 2018/2019". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Ittihad Tanger » Fixtures & Results 2019/2020". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "RS Berkane » Fixtures & Results 2020/2021". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Ittihad Tanger » Fixtures & Results 2021/2022". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "NorthEast United FC » Fixtures & Results 2023/2024". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
External links
- Juan Pedro Benali on Twitter
- Juan Pedro Benali at Soccerway
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