| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Peña Escontrela | ||
| Date of birth | (1965-12-18)18 December 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Lugo, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 13 November 2012(2012-11-13) (aged 46) | ||
| Place of death | Ponferrada, Spain | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ponferradina | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1982–1983 | Ponferradina | 21 | (9) |
| 1983–1990 | Valladolid | 148 | (24) |
| 1990–1993 | Zaragoza | 41 | (3) |
| 1993–1995 | Cádiz | 28 | (3) |
| 1995–1996 | Talavera | 24 | (1) |
| 1996–2000 | Ponferradina | ||
| International career | |||
| 1983–1984 | Spain U18 | 6 | (0) |
| 1985 | Spain U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 1985 | Spain U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 1985–1987 | Spain U21 | 5 | (1) |
| 1988 | Spain U23 | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Manuel "Manolo" Peña Escontrela (18 December 1965 – 13 November 2012) was a Spanish professionalfootballer who played as aforward.
Over the course of ten seasons, he amassedLa Liga totals of 189 games and 27 goals, withValladolid andZaragoza.
Born inLugo,Galicia, Peña signed at the age of 17 withReal Valladolid, going on to play seven consecutiveLa Liga seasons with the club, but only appearing in 30 league games his first three combined. His best output for theCastile and León side came in the1987–88 campaign when he scored eight goals in 29 matches (all starts) to help them finish in eighth position; this included ahat-trick againstFC Barcelona at theCamp Nou in a 4–2 win,[1] and another in the home game against theCatalans (1–1 draw).[2]
Still at the professional level, Peña played withReal Zaragoza (top level)[3] andCádiz CF (being relegated fromSegunda División in1993–94). He retired in June 2000 after six years in the lower leagues, mainly withSD Ponferradina where he started his career.
Peñan earned a total of 14caps for fourSpanish youth teams. He helped theunder-20s finish second at the1985 FIFA World Youth Championship in theSoviet Union, appearing in the group stage againstBrazil (0–2 loss) and theRepublic of Ireland (4–2 win).[4][5]
After retiring, Peña settled inPonferrada and worked in the city council. He died on 13 November 2012 from cancer, at the age of 46.[6][7]