.jpg) Solozábal in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roberto Solozábal Villanueva | ||
| Date of birth | (1969-09-15)15 September 1969 (age 56) | ||
| Place of birth | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Atlético Madrid | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1989 | Atlético Madrileño | 28 | (1) |
| 1989–1997 | Atlético Madrid | 231 | (3) |
| 1997–2000 | Betis | 42 | (0) |
| Total | 301 | (4) | |
| International career | |||
| 1987–1988 | Spain U18 | 8 | (0) |
| 1988–1989 | Spain U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 1989–1990 | Spain U20 | 5 | (0) |
| 1989–1991 | Spain U21 | 4 | (0) |
| 1991–1992 | Spain U23 | 12 | (1) |
| 1991–1993 | Spain | 12 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing Spain | ||
| Men'sFootball | ||
 | 1992 Barcelona | Team Competition |
Roberto Solozábal Villanueva (born 15 September 1969) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as acentral defender.
He appeared in 273La Liga games over 11 seasons, representing in the competitionAtlético Madrid andBetis.[1]
A product of localAtlético Madrid's youth system,Madrid-born Solozábal represented the first team from 1989 to 1997, his debut being on 2 September in a 3–1 away win againstValencia CF (90 minutes played). Other than hisfirst season – ten appearances – he never played less than 18La Liga games during his eight-year spell.
During the1995–96 campaign, Solózabal formed a solid centre-back partnership with anotherColchonero youth graduate,Juan Manuel López, as the capital side achieved an historicdouble, with the former featuring in 40 league matches.[2]
After leaving Atlético, Solozábal signed withReal Betis.[3] In hislast season, where theAndalusian club was relegated and he was ousted from the squad for allegedly organising a riot, he ultimately took it to court for lack of payment in a suit which lasted several years, with the player having already retired.[4][5]
Solozábal wascaptain of theSpanish side thatwon the gold medal at the1992 Summer Olympics inBarcelona,[6] and also earned 12fullcaps in two years,[1] the first coming on 17 April 1991 in a 2–0friendly loss toRomania inCáceres.[7]
Solozábal's second sonHugo was also a professional footballer. The oldest, Iker (born 2001), was atriathlete.[8][9]
Atlético Madrid
Spain U23
