Albert Ferrer

Albert "Chapi" Ferrer i Llopis (Catalan pronunciation: [əɫˈβɛɾ fəˈre]; born 6 June 1970 in Barcelona, Catalonia) is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a right defender, and the current coach of Vitesse in the Netherlands.

Having represented local FC Barcelona for almost a decade, he went on to appear for England's Chelsea until his retirement.

Club career

A pacy and tough-tackling defender, "Chapi" Ferrer began his professional career with FC Barcelona B, then serving a loan with CD Tenerife in1989–90, making his La Liga debuts at age 19.

He returned to the main squad the following summer, and became the club's first-choice right-back, remaining as such for the following eight years, in which he scored once; he often partnered another club graduate, Sergi Barjuán, in the defensive wings.

Ferrer was a key member of the famous Dream Team and, during his time in Catalonia, won five leagues, a European Cup, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two domestic cups, four Supercups and two UEFA Super Cups.

As the Dutch dominance at the Camp Nou – in terms of players – was still an important one (the club was coached by Louis van Gaal), Ferrer left the club in June 1998 amongst other club greats, as Guillermo Amor, moving to Chelsea for £2.2 million, and quickly established himself in the side, helping the club qualify for its first ever Champions League campaign, in his first season. Chelsea won the FA Cup the following year (but he missed the final through injury) and reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League; during the run in the latter, he played in 14 of the club's 16 games, and scored his only goal for Chelsea, in a 2–0 win against Hertha Berlin.

A combination of injuries and manager Gianluca Vialli's squad rotation policy reduced Ferrer's opportunities in the following season and he made only 14 league appearances. The club reached another FA Cup final in 2002 (which he again missed, though this time through not being selected). Out of favour and facing strong competition from younger defenders at the club, he made just seven league appearances in his final two years at Chelsea and left in May 2003, upon the expiry of his contract, playing 113 overall games for the London-based club, and retiring shortly after, at 33.

Afterwards, Ferrer spent several years working as a color commentator, working for a number of Spanish broadcasters. In late October 2010, he was announced as new head coach of Vitesse Arnhem in the Eredivisie, his staff also including compatriot Albert Capellas (formerly youth coach at Barcelona) and former Dutch goalkeeper Stanley Menzo, who left his post at SC Cambuur in order to join the Spaniards.

International career

Ferrer was a Spanish international on 36 occasions. His debut came on 4 September 1991, in a friendly win with Uruguay (2–1) in Oviedo. Spain did not qualify for UEFA Euro 1992.

Subsequently, Ferrer was an everpresent figure in the national side, appearing as starter at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and playing once in the 1998 edition, the 2–3 group stage loss against Nigeria, missing Euro 1996 and 2000 through injury (with Barça teammate Sergi on the other flank in all these tournaments).

In 1992, Ferrer was first-choice for the Olympic team that won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics, held in his hometown.