 In his first campaign in his second spell he led them to the league championship, adding a semi-final presence in the Copa del Rey after ousting Real Madrid in the round-of-16 and Deportivo de La Coruña in the quarter-finals.In 1999–2000, with a side that included Basque Julio Salinas, Mané led Alavés to its best classification ever in the top flight, sixth, with qualification to the UEFA Cup as a result – season highlights included winning both matches against Barcelona (2–1 and 1–0) plus a 2–1 home defeat of eventual champions Deportivo.In the European campaign, the team reached the final after disposing of, amongst others, Inter Milan and fellow Spaniards Rayo Vallecano, meeting Liverpool in the decisive match