Cabrera is a UEFA Pro License coach with a wide range of experience in both professional and grassroots football projects.[3][4] He also has a reputation as a football analyst [5] and has experience of working as an expert analyst for Opta Sports.
Cabrera has a bachelor's degree in football as well as advertising and marketing.[6][7][8][9]
Coaching career
Cabrera worked as a technical director and as an assistant coach for Indian side Sporting Clube de Goa, from 2013 to 2015.[10] In 2016, he was appointed as the manager for Spanish club CF Rayo Majadahonda and spent a year coaching the team, before departing in 2017.[11] Moreover, he was the head coach of FC Barcelona Academy in Northern Virginia for 4 months in 2018.[12] From 2018, Cabrera acted as the Elite Academy coach of La Liga side Deportivo Alavés for 4 years.[13][14]
Bangladesh national team
On 8 January 2022, Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) announced the appointment of Javier Fernández Cabrera as the new national team head coach. Cabrera signed an 11 month contract during a meeting called by the BFF on 19 January 2022, where he was officially made the head coach of the Bangladesh national team.[15][16][17][18]
Cabrera's first game incharge ended in a 0–2 defeat in a friendly, at the hand of Maldives, on 24 March 2022.[19] In June, Cabrera guided the team to three straight defeats, as Bangladesh finished bottom of their group in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round. The team conceded 8 and scored 2 goals over their qualification campaign.[20]
On 22 September 2022, Cabrera gained his first victory as Bangladesh coach, which came in his seventh match incharge, when Rakib Hossain scored the only goal as Bangladesh edged Cambodia 1–0.[21] However, the following friendly saw the team go down 1–3 to hosts Nepal.[22]
On 11 January 2023, BFF extended Cabrera's contract for one more year. The new deal meant the Spaniard would remain at the helm until December 2023.[23][24]