In a managerial career of over two decades, he competed in ten La Liga seasons at the helm of Recreativo (with whom he reached the 2003 Copa del Rey final), Racing de Santander, Granada and Levante.

[2] Even though Recre returned to the second division immediately, they also managed to reach the final of the Copa del Rey, losing 3–0 to RCD Mallorca.

[4] He spent the following two seasons in the Segunda División, helping Real Murcia to promote in 2007[5] but being immediately relegated afterwards – he was fired on 6 March 2008 –[6] and meeting the same fate with his following club, Recreativo.

[7] In the summer of 2009, Alcaraz signed with another team in his native Andalusia, Córdoba CF (division two),[8] helping the side finish tenth in his first season.

[10] On 30 January of the following year, after a very short spell in Greece with Aris Thessaloniki FC,[11] he returned to his country and Granada, with the club now in the top tier.

[18] Three days later, he was appointed at the helm of the Algeria national side,[19] but was fired in October after failing to qualify to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, receiving a €345,000 payout.