Fernando Hierro

(Fernando Ruiz Hierro)

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Born
1968 (58 years old)
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Vélez-Málaga, Spain

Position
Centre-Back

Status
Retired

Ethnicity
White

Team Number

Height
187 cm

Weight
84 kg (185 lb)

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Kit

Wage Year

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Sport

Soccer

Team
_Retired Soccer

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Description

Fernando Ruiz Hierro (Spanish pronunciation: ; born 23 March 1968) is a Spanish football executive and former player who played as a centre-back, sweeper or defensive midfielder.

He won five La Liga and three Champions League trophies with Real Madrid in 14 years after signing from Valladolid, during which he appeared in 601 official matches. He also competed professionally in Qatar and England.

Hierro represented Spain on 89 occasions, appearing in four World Cups and two European Championships. He started working as a manager in 2016 with Oviedo, being appointed at the helm of the national team two years later.

Hierro was capped 89 times for Spain and scored 29 goals, being only surpassed by Raúl (who also took over his captain armband in June 2002 when he retired), Álvaro Morata, David Silva, Fernando Torres and David Villa. He made his debut on 20 September 1989 – freshly signed by Madrid – in a 1–0 friendly victory over Poland in A Coruña, and appeared for the nation in the 1990 (although only as a squad member), 1994, 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, as well as UEFA Euro 1996 (where he missed a penalty as Spain crashed out to hosts England in a shootout) and 2000.

One of Hierro's most important goals came during the 1994 World Cup qualification, as he headed the winner against Denmark that allowed ten-men Spain to qualify for the final tournament in the United States. In the finals, he scored after an individual effort against Switzerland in the round of 16, before his team was eliminated by Italy in the quarter-finals following a 2–1 loss.

Although he had already been in charge for a few weeks, Hierro was officially presented as sporting director of the Royal Spanish Football Federation in late September 2007. He remained four years in the position.

Hierro returned to his native region in July 2011, being appointed Málaga CF's director of football. On 28 May 2012, even though the club finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League for the first time ever, he left his position.

On 10 July 2014, Hierro was named assistant coach of Real Madrid, replacing Zinedine Zidane – who left to take the reins of Real Madrid Castilla – in Carlo Ancelotti's staff. He was given his first full managerial role two years later, being appointed at Segunda División side Real Oviedo for the upcoming season with the option of a further year; on 14 June 2017, after missing out on the promotion playoffs on the final matchday, he left the Estadio Carlos Tartiere by mutual consent.

Hierro returned to the Spanish Federation as sporting director on 27 November 2017. He was appointed as the manager of Spain on 13 June 2018 after the sacking of Julen Lopetegui two days before their first match at the World Cup, following the latter's decision to join Real Madrid after the tournament. Two days later, he led the team to a 3–3 group stage draw against Portugal; on 8 July, following a penalty shootout loss to hosts Russia in the round of 16, he stepped down from his post and also announced that he would not return to his role as sporting director.

On 21 October 2022, Hierro was announced as sporting director of Guadalajara in the Mexican Liga MX. In June 2024, he joined Saudi Pro League's Al-Nassr in the same capacity.

Hierro's older brothers, Antonio and Manuel, were also professional footballers and defenders. The latter paired up with Fernando at Valladolid, as the club finished eighth in 1987–88.

In 2021, Hierro began dating Croatian television journalist Fani Stipković, having divorced his wife of 28 years Sonia Ruiz. They married in September 2023 in Mexico and, the following month, welcomed their first child, Nicolás Valentín.

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