Martinez takes over at Valladolid

Madrid: Former Levante boss Juan Ignacio Martinez has been named as the new boss of Spanish top flight side Valladolid, the club announced.

A statement on the club`s website realvalladolid.es late on Monday said Martinez had signed a two-year contract. The 48-year-old will succeed Miroslav Djukic, who left to join Valencia earlier this month. Martinez enjoyed an extremely successful two-year spell with Levante, leading the club to their highest ever league finish of sixth in 2011/12. That also saw Levante qualify for European football for the first time. They had another reasonably successful campaign last season, reaching the last-16 of the Europa League and an 11th place finish in La Liga -- 10 points clear of the relegation zone. But a poor run of just two league wins since January meant that Martinez`s contract was not renewed for next season by the club from Valencia. AFP