Antonio Manuel Ruiz Fernández (born 20 February 1977), commonly known as Romerito, is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder, and is a current manager.
[1][2] Initially assigned to the reserves, he was exclusively used in the main squad, making his professional debut on 14 September 1997 by coming on as a half-time substitute for Fernando Román in a 0–0 Segunda División away draw against CD Logroñés.
He made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 17 January 2000, starting and scoring the opener in a 1–2 loss at Real Madrid.
[4] In 2001, Romerito agreed to a deal with Recreativo de Huelva in the second division, but left for Hércules CF in the following January after being rarely used.
[9] In August 2013, Romerito joined Xerez Deportivo FC,[10] and helped the club in three consecutive promotions to Primera Andaluza before retiring in June 2016, aged 39.