Enrique "Quique" Sánchez Flores (; born 5 February 1965) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a right-back.
He began his professional career with Valencia in 1984, going on to amass La Liga totals of 304 games and 16 goals over 12 seasons and also appearing for Real Madrid and Zaragoza in the competition, retiring in 1997. Internationally, he represented Spain at under-18, under-21 and under-23 levels, appearing with the senior side at the 1990 World Cup.
In 2001, Flores began his managerial career when he took charge of Real Madrid's youth team. His first senior post came in 2004, with Getafe, and he also managed Valencia, Atlético Madrid – where he won the 2010 Europa League – and Espanyol in the top division. Abroad, he had spells at Benfica in the Primeira Liga and Watford (twice) in the Premier League, as well as stints in the United Arab Emirates and China.
Playing career
Born in Madrid, Flores spent his first ten years as a senior with Valencia CF, starting in 1984–85. The club was relegated in his second season, and when it returned to La Liga in the 1987–88 campaign, finished 14th. However, from that point until 1994 the team never ranked lower than seventh, with him as first-choice.
Flores moved to Real Madrid in summer 1994 on a four-year contract, and stayed with the capital side for two seasons, winning the league title in the first one but being deemed surplus to requirements early into the 1996 preseason after complaining to newly-arrived manager Fabio Capello of toenail pains. Subsequently, he had a brief spell with Real Zaragoza, retiring from professional football at the age of 32 with Spanish top-flight totals of 304 games and 16 goals; in his only season in the Segunda División, as Valencia won the championship, he posted career-highs with 40 matches and nine goals.
Flores made 15 appearances for the Spain national team, and was included in the 1990 FIFA World Cup squad. His debut came on 23 September 1987, in a 2–0 friendly win against Luxembourg in Castellón de la Plana.
Coaching career
Beginnings
Flores began his coaching career in 2001 by taking charge of Real Madrid's youth teams. After earning plaudits during his three seasons in the youth teams he caught the eye of the newly promoted Getafe CF, also in Madrid.
Valencia
After the 2004–05 campaign with Getafe, in which they finished in 13th place, Flores was given the opportunity to coach his former club Valencia, succeeding Claudio Ranieri. In his first year, he guided them to third place and thus qualified for the UEFA Champions League where the team went on to reach the quarter-finals, being knocked out by Chelsea.
In May 2007, the Che achieved a top-four league finish and consequently a place in the next Champions League. On 29 October, however, the board of directors dismissed Flores after a string of poor results.
Benfica
Flores was appointed as manager of S.L. Benfica on 24 May 2008. On 8 June of the following year he left the Primeira Liga side by mutual consent, after a third place in the league and winning the domestic league cup.
Atlético Madrid
On 23 October 2009, Flores signed for Atlético Madrid following the dismissal of Abel Resino, penning a contract until 30 June 2010. At the end of the campaign, he led the team to the ninth position in the domestic competition, but also to two cup finals: the UEFA Europa League against Fulham (2–1 win) and the Copa del Rey, lost to Sevilla FC.
Frequently clashing with star player Diego Forlán during 2010–11, Flores announced his departure from the Colchoneros before the season ended, with the team finally qualifying for the Europa League.
Al Ahli
In early May 2011, Flores was linked with a move to FC Spartak Moscow. On 8 November, however, he was named new coach of UAE Pro League team Al Ahli Dubai FC, replacing Ivan Hašek. He left on 11 June 2013.
Al Ain
On 28 September 2013, only three months after leaving the country, Flores returned to the United Arab Emirates, being appointed at Al Ain FC. However, his tenure was brief as he was dismissed on 8 March 2014 due to poor results.
Return to Getafe
After nearly nine months without a club, Flores returned to Getafe on 5 January 2015 to succeed Cosmin Contra as the new manager following the latter's departure to China. His first match in charge took place two days later, and it ended with a 1–1 away draw against UD Almería in the domestic cup; on 26 February, however, citing personal reasons, he resigned.