José Antonio Camacho facts for kids
Camacho in 2011
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Antonio Camacho Alfaro | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 8 June 1955 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cieza, Spain | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m | ||||||||||||
| Playing position | Left-back | ||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||
| Albacete | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||
| 1972–1973 | Albacete | ||||||||||||
| 1973–1974 | Castilla | ||||||||||||
| 1974–1989 | Real Madrid | 414 | (9) | ||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||
| 1973 | Spain U18 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 1975–1976 | Spain amateur | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 1975–1988 | Spain | 81 | (0) | ||||||||||
| Teams managed | |||||||||||||
| 1989–1992 | Real Madrid (assistant) | ||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Rayo Vallecano | ||||||||||||
| 1993–1996 | Espanyol | ||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Sevilla | ||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Espanyol | ||||||||||||
| 1998 | Real Madrid | ||||||||||||
| 1998–2002 | Spain | ||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Benfica | ||||||||||||
| 2004 | Real Madrid | ||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Benfica | ||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Osasuna | ||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | China | ||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Gabon | ||||||||||||
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Honours
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José Antonio Camacho Alfaro, born on June 8, 1955, is a famous Spanish former football player and manager. He was known for playing as a left-back, a defensive position on the left side of the field.
Camacho spent 15 years playing for Real Madrid, one of the biggest football clubs in the world. He played in over 500 official matches for them and helped the team win an amazing 19 major titles, including nine La Liga championships (Spain's top football league).
After his playing career, he became a football manager. He managed many teams, including his old club Real Madrid for two short periods. Camacho also managed the Spanish national team for four years, leading them to the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup.
As a player, Camacho played more than 80 games for the Spanish national team. He represented his country in two World Cups and two European Championships.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Camacho was born in Cieza, Murcia, Spain. He started playing youth football at Albacete. When he was 18, he joined Real Madrid, a very famous club in La Liga. He quickly became a regular player in the first team. His first game was on March 3, 1974, where he played the whole match.
During his time at Real Madrid, Camacho played in 577 official games. This included 414 league matches. He worked well with Rafael Gordillo, who played as a midfielder on the left side. In 1978, Camacho had a serious injury during training. This kept him from playing for almost two years. But he came back strong and helped Real Madrid win two UEFA Cups in a row.
Playing for Spain
Camacho played 81 games for the Spanish national team. He was only 19 years old when he played his first game on February 5, 1975. This was a qualifying match for the UEFA Euro 1976 against Scotland in Valencia.
For the next 13 years, Camacho was a key defender for Spain. He was always chosen as a starting player. He played in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. He also played in the 1984 and 1988 European Championships. After Spain lost to West Germany in 1988, he stopped playing for the national team at age 33.
Coaching Career
Early Coaching Days
After he stopped playing in 1989, Camacho started coaching. First, he worked as part of Real Madrid's coaching team. His first jobs as a main coach were at Rayo Vallecano and Espanyol. He helped both of these teams get promoted to Spain's top football division.
In the summer of 1998, Camacho became the manager of Real Madrid's main team. However, he left after just 22 days because he disagreed with the club's leaders.
Managing the Spanish National Team
Camacho became the manager of the Spanish national team in September 1998. This happened after Spain had a surprising 3–2 loss to Cyprus in a qualifying game. Under Camacho, the team quickly improved. He led them to the final stages of Euro 2000, where they lost to France in the quarter-finals. France went on to win the tournament.
Two years later, Camacho's team again lost in the quarter-finals, this time to South Korea in the 2002 World Cup. After this tough defeat, he announced he was leaving his job.
Time at Benfica
After leaving the national team, Camacho started coaching club teams again. On December 1, 2002, he became the manager of Benfica in Portugal. Two years later, his team won the Taça de Portugal (Portuguese Cup) in 2004. They beat José Mourinho's Porto in extra time. This win ended Benfica's longest time without winning a trophy. They also finished second in the Primeira Liga, Portugal's top league.
Camacho was known as a tough player, but he also showed a very caring side. He was deeply saddened when a player, Miklós Fehér, sadly passed away during a match.
Returning to Real Madrid and Benfica
For the 2004–05 season, Camacho returned to Real Madrid as manager. He signed a two-year contract. But things quickly went wrong again in his second time there. After a 3–0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League and a 1–0 league loss to Espanyol, he resigned. This was only a few weeks into the season.
Camacho returned to Benfica again in August 2007. However, after a series of poor results, he felt he could no longer motivate the team. He announced he would leave the club in March 2008, after a home draw against União de Leiria.
Managing Osasuna
After working as a football commentator for Spanish TV during Spain's wins in Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, Camacho became the manager of Osasuna on October 13, 2008.
On February 14, 2011, Osasuna lost a game that put them in the relegation zone (meaning they might drop to a lower league). Because of this, Camacho was fired. However, the team ended up finishing in ninth place that season.
Managing the China National Team
On August 13, 2011, Camacho took charge of the Chinese national team. He signed a three-year deal. The Chinese Football Association wanted him to help China's football catch up with countries like Japan and South Korea.
China did not qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They finished third in their qualifying group. Camacho was also the manager when a young Chinese team lost 8–0 to Brazil in a friendly match in 2012. This was China's worst-ever defeat and caused them to drop to their lowest ever ranking in the world.
In their first game for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification, China lost 2–1 to Saudi Arabia. After a shocking 5–1 friendly loss to Thailand on June 15, 2013, Camacho was removed from his job.
One reason mentioned for his difficulties in China was about football boots. The Chinese FA said all national team players had to wear Adidas boots. But most players in the Chinese Super League wore Nike, which caused discomfort.
Managing the Gabon National Team
Camacho was appointed manager of the Gabon in December 2016. This was just 43 days before the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations was held in Gabon. His team drew all three of their group stage matches and did not move forward in the tournament.
Camacho was removed from his position on September 12, 2018, because of poor results.
Awards and Trophies
As a Player
Real Madrid
- La Liga: 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89
- Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup): 1973–74, 1974–75, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1988–89
- Supercopa de España (Spanish Super Cup): 1988, 1989
- Copa de la Liga (League Cup): 1985
- UEFA Cup: 1984–85, 1985–86
Spain National Team
- UEFA European Championship runner-up: 1984
As a Manager
Benfica
- Taça de Portugal (Portuguese Cup): 2003–04
Images for kids
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Camacho in 2011
See also
In Spanish: José Antonio Camacho para niños
- List of La Liga players (400+ appearances)
- List of Real Madrid CF records and statistics
