Spanish pop singer turned football coach makes his La Liga debut on Monday night

Name: Alberto Gallego Lancuentra

Date of Birth: Mar 16, 1974

Age: 48

Citizenship: Spain

Nickname: Lanco

Occupations: Football coach, singer

Achievements: Benidorm music festival final (1994), Spain's trials for the Eurovision Song Contest (2004), first-team coach of a couple of clubs in Greece and Spain

Genre: pop ballads, 4-2-3-1

***

If you're a bit confused reading this extract from Alberto Gallego's biography, don't worry - you're not going mad. The life of the 48-year-old Spanish football coach is as different (one would say awkward) as it gets. Tonight, he'll make his LaLiga debut as Elche's caretaker manager against Mallorca, but it will be anything but a maiden appearance on the big stage for this one-of-a-kind guy.

Like many Spaniards, Gallego's flamboyant character was always attracted by two probably quite the opposite yet equally passionate occupations - football and music. However, unlike the others, he chose not to choose between the two but to pursue both careers - to reach the stars as a pop singer and football manager, respectively.

While a teenager, Gallego was a promising player of Lleida FC, but his God-given voice and a little help from his mother pushed him straight into music stardom. He was studying music when she sent a demo tape of his song 'Verte a cada momento' (See you in every moment) for the 1994 Benidorm music festival. It was an instant pop hit, it hit the charts and launched a handsome 20-year-old straight into the world of celebrities in Spain. He was offered a contract to record a label, and subsequently, he moved to the Spanish capital, Madrid, to fulfil his dreams.

In the meantime, Gallego suffered a severe nose injury while playing for the fourth-tier Madrid-based side Alcobendas and made the decision to hang his boots permanently.

He recorded four albums under the stage name of Lanco and spent long periods in Argentina on tour. Moreover, in 2004 he was the finalist in the national competition for Spain's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Nada para ti, nada para mi' (Nothing for you, nothing for me).

Still, despite such success, he used to spend many nights doing something more than just singing countless ballads - Alberto immersed himself in the coaching books. Football was not giving up on him, nor the other way around.

So, what was the moment they got back together?

According to Marca, the discography crisis with the flood of the CD and the lack of control over song downloads in the early years of the Internet was the final blow for him to hang up the microphone finally.

"My life story is worth at least four movies", Gallego has said recently.

And it was even before this Monday night, when he'll put his low-profile coaching path under the spotlight for the first time.

Until a few days ago, Gallego was the first-team coach of Elche's reserve team, playing in the fourth division. However, once the LaLiga basement slot sacked their gaffer, Francisco Rodriguez, after five defeats in a row and only a single point won ahead of matchday 8, Alberto received an urgent call from Elche's chairman. He never worked as a firefighter, but this will be literally that sort of assignment - Lanco's mission is to put that Elche's fire on hold until they find some permanent solution.

Or maybe... we'll see him getting rid of that 'interim' prefix and becoming a full-time, permanent coach.

That would definitely be worth a movie, let alone the manager's new pop song.

By: BOJAN BABIC

LA LIGA - MATCHDAY 8

Friday

Osasuna - Valencia 0-2 (0-1)

/Brasanac 90+3 - Kluivert 27, Diakhaby 53/

Saturday

Almeria - Rayo Vallecano 3-1 (3-0)

/Robertone 8, Babic 17, Toure 39 - Catena 81/

Atletico - Girona 2-1 (1-0)

/Correa 5, 48 - Riquelme 66/

Sevilla - Athletic Club 1-1 (1-0)

/Torres 4 - Vesga 73/

Getafe - Real Madrid 0-1 (0-1)

/Militao 3/

Sunday

Valladolid - Betis 0-0

Cadiz - Espanyol 2-2 (1-0)

/Chust 41, Perez 78 - Joselu 51, 67/

Sociedad - Villareal 1-0 (1-0)

/Mendez 33/

Barcelona - Celta (1-0)

/Pedri 17/

Monday

22.00: (3.25) Elche (3.00) Mallorca (2.65)

***odds are subject to change