Promotions, Cup Runs & European Qualification - Cifuentes’ Career Highlights

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Promotions, Cup Runs & European Qualification - Cifuentes’ Career Highlights

A timeline of Martí Cifuentes’ best moments as a manager, with spells in Spain, Norway, Sweden and Denmark within his reputable CV, prior to his arrival in England.

2025-07-16T15:12+01:00

by Sam Jones

Published

16 Jul, 2025

Promotions, Cup Runs & European Qualification - Cifuentes’ Career Highlights

A timeline of Martí Cifuentes’ best moments as a manager, with spells in Spain, Norway, Sweden and Denmark within his reputable CV, prior to his arrival in England.

Sam Jones

2025-07-16T15:12+01:00

Promotions, Cup Runs & European Qualification - Cifuentes’ Career Highlights

A timeline of Martí Cifuentes’ best moments as a manager, with spells in Spain, Norway, Sweden and Denmark within his reputable CV, prior to his arrival in England.

Sam Jones

2025-07-16T15:12+01:00

Promotions, Cup Runs & European Qualification - Cifuentes’ Career Highlights

A timeline of Martí Cifuentes’ best moments as a manager, with spells in Spain, Norway, Sweden and Denmark within his reputable CV, prior to his arrival in England.

Sam Jones

2025-07-16T15:12+01:00

Promotions, Cup Runs & European Qualification - Cifuentes’ Career Highlights

A timeline of Martí Cifuentes’ best moments as a manager, with spells in Spain, Norway, Sweden and Denmark within his reputable CV, prior to his arrival in England.

Sam Jones

2025-07-16T15:12+01:00

Following the Spaniard’s appointment as our new manager on a three-year contract this Tuesday, we chart the 43-year-old’s successful coaching career to date, which began before he hung up his boots as a player…

A First Promotion & Senior Role

His three-year stint as manager of Unió Esportiva Rubí’s youth team followed a premature end to his playing days at Sant Quirze and Cifuentes guided the Barcelona-based club to promotion into the National League.

Clearly making an impression after briefly combining his role with that of first team assistant coach, he would be appointed first team manager of the Spanish fourth tier outfit in 2013, securing his first top job in the process.

Bouncing Back With Sandefjord

Appointed at Norwegian side Sandefjord during the 2018 Eliteserien season, Cifuentes took over a struggling team, and though he only lost six of his first 18 matches, they were relegated to OBOS-ligaen.

In his first full season in charge, however, the Spaniard guided the Whalers back to the top-flight at the first attempt, before securing their best position in over a decade, finishing 11th.

Reaching A Cup Final

His time as manager of Hammarby IF included several memorable moments, including a run to the 2022 Svenska Cupen Final. Topping their group with three wins from three, Bajen moved into the quarter-finals, beating Norrköping 3-2 before overcoming IF Elfsborg 1-0 in the last-four.

Facing Malmo in the showpiece event on home soil in Stockholm, it finished goalless during normal time before losing out 4-3 on penalties.

European Qualification

The same season, Hammarby finished a credible third in Allsvenskan, securing a place in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

One point behind runners-up Djurgårdens, only one team scored more and conceded fewer goals than Cifuentes’ side, with a run of five consecutive league victories leading to the Spaniard being named April Manager of the Month, an award he would pick up on a second occasion later in the year.

Keeping QPR Up

Taking over at Loftus Road in October 2023, with the club second from bottom in the Sky Bet Championship, Cifuentes masterminded an impressive recovery to eventually finish clear of the relegation zone in 18th.

Ironically, it was QPR’s 4-0 victory over Leeds United in April 2024 that retained their status in the division and also confirmed City’s promotion into the Premier League.

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