 Santamaría in 1976 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Emilio Santamaría Iglesias | ||
| Date of birth | (1929-07-31)31 July 1929 (age 96) | ||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Atlético Pocitos | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1948–1957 | Nacional | ||
| 1957–1966 | Real Madrid | 227 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 1952–1957 | Uruguay | 20 | (0) |
| 1958–1962 | Spain | 16 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1968–1971 | Spain (youth / Olympic) | ||
| 1971–1977 | Español | ||
| 1978–1980 | Spain U21 | ||
| 1980–1982 | Spain | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
José Emilio Santamaría Iglesias (born 31 July 1929) is a formerfootballcentral defender andmanager. He spent his 18-year career withNacional andReal Madrid, winning 12 titles with the latter club including fourEuropean Cups.
Born in Uruguay, Santamaría represented both theUruguay andSpain national teams.[1] He later embarked on a managerial career, which included a two-year spell with Spain.
Born inMontevideo to Spanish parents,[2] Santamaría played for localClub Nacional de Football in his country, winning five national championships during his spell. In 1957 the 28-year-old moved abroad, signing withReal Madrid where he remained until the end of his career.[3]
Santamaría totalled 34 appearances betweenLa Liga and theEuropean Cup in hisfirst season at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium, winning both tournaments. He went on to add a further ten major trophies to his collection, being first-choice for the vast majority of his stint.[4]
Having earned the nickname 'The Wall' for his consistent defensive displays, Santamaría retired at the end of the1965–66 campaign aged 36, featuring twice inthat year's European Cupen route to another triumph (againstFeyenoord and atKilmarnock).[5] He played 337 competitive matches for Real Madrid.[6]
Santamaría was appointed atBarcelona'sRCD Español in the summer of 1971, for his first club coaching experience. He led theCatalans to two top-four finishes in a six-year tenure, including a third place in the1972–73 season just three points behind championsAtlético Madrid,[7] being dismissed on 21 December 1977 following a 4–0 away loss againstRacing de Santander.[8]
Santamaría was first called up to play forUruguay in the1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, being selected to fill aninside forward slot in the squad but seeing the request denied by his club on the grounds that he was a defender.[3] Four years later, however, he was an integral part of the team at theWorld Cup in Switzerland, helping them to a final fourth position and earning a total of 20caps.[9][5]
Santamaría began representingSpain in 1958, his debut coming on 15 October againstNorthern Ireland (6–2friendly win in Madrid). He appeared with his adopted nation at the1962 World Cup, playing againstCzechoslovakia (1–0 loss) andMexico (1–0 victory) in an eventual group-stage exit.[9][5]
After working with theyouth sides and spending two years with theunder-21s,[5] Santamaría was appointed full manager for the1982 World Cup, due to be played on home soil.[10] He was relieved of his duties at the end of the competition as Spain were unable to progress from the second group phase, and quit football altogether to pursue other interests.[11]
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Real Madrid
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