Nico Estévez


Nicolás "Nico" Estévez Martínez is a Spanish football manager. He is the head coach of Austin FC in Major League Soccer.

Career

Early career

Born in Valencia, Estévez began his career with the youth categories of local side CF San José, at the age of just 19. In 2004, he was hired by Valencia CF to work in their youth setup.
In July 2011, Estévez was appointed manager of newly-created side Huracán Valencia CF in Segunda División B. On 1 July 2013, after missing out promotion twice in the play-offs, he announced his departure from the club.

Valencia

On 4 July 2013, Estévez returned to Valencia after being named in charge of the reserves also in the third level. On 16 December, he was named interim manager of Valencia's first team, after Miroslav Đukić was dismissed. He was in charge of the team for two matches, a 1–0 Copa del Rey home win against Gimnàstic de Tarragona and a 2–3 La Liga home loss against Real Madrid; at the age of 33, he became the second-youngest manager in the history of the club, only behind Óscar Fernández, also an interim.
Shortly after, Estévez returned to his previous role with Mestalla after the appointment of Juan Antonio Pizzi. He was sacked by Mestalla on 7 April 2014, after nine winless matches, and was replaced by Curro Torres.

Assistant

In September 2014, Estévez moved abroad and joined American side Columbus Crew SC, as a Director of Methodology. On 6 January 2017, he was promoted to assistant coach of Gregg Berhalter in Crew SC's first team. On 16 January 2019, he followed Berhalter to the United States men's soccer team, again as his assistant.

FC Dallas

On 2 December 2021, Estévez was announced as the new head coach of Major League Soccer side FC Dallas. In his first season in charge of the side, he qualified them for the playoffs, finishing third on the Western Conference with 53 points, 20 more than last year; it was the biggest year-over-year improvement in the club's history.
On 9 June 2024, Estévez was relieved of his duties as FC Dallas head coach after a 3–8–5 start to the season.

Austin FC

On 25 October 2024, Estévez was hired by Dallas' rivals Austin FC as their new head coach for the upcoming season.

Honours

Individual