Coach who was about to take over at Villarreal dies.
Manolo Preciado suffered a fatal heart attack in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Band Sports -Spanish coach Manolo Preciado died early Thursday morning in Valencia, apparently from a heart attack. The 54-year-old coach was due to be presented on Friday as the new manager of Villarreal, aiming to return the team to the first division of the Spanish Championship.
Preciado was spending a few days in a coastal town near Valencia. Emergency crews were unable to resuscitate the coach. He had recently suffered another tragedy: losing his wife and one of his two children in a car accident.
The coach was considered one of the most charismatic figures in Spanish football. His last job was at Sporting Gijón, the club that fired him halfway through last season. Manolo Preciado would arrive at Villarreal, relegated last season, with two promotions to the first division on his resume (Levante in 2004, and with Sporting Gijón itself in 2008).