Joaquín Parra


Antonio Joaquín Parra Fernández is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder, and a coach.
He amassed La Liga totals of 283 matches and 30 goals during 11 seasons, mainly at the service of Betis. He also spent two years with Real Madrid.

Club career

Born in Seville, Parra made his professional debut with hometown club Real Betis at age 18 and played there until 1986–87, appearing in a career-best La Liga 44 games – all as a starter – precisely in that season, which had a second stage. He left the Andalusians with 283 competitive matches to his credit, including four in the UEFA Cup and 19 in the Copa de la Liga; he reached the final of the latter tournament in 1986, losing it to FC Barcelona 1–2 on aggregate.
Subsequently, Parra transferred to Atlético Madrid where, after a solid first year he appeared sparingly, which also occurred in the following two seasons, now with Real Madrid.
After an unsuccessful trial in Hungary with Budapest Honvéd FC, Parra signed with lowly Écija Balompié in 1992, after which he retired. In the 2000s he took up coaching, with Betis' C and B-teams as well as Coria CF, subsequently working in directorial capacities for the former club.
In October 2006, Parra joined Andalusia's coaching staff, led by José Enrique Díaz.