José Santamaría facts for kids
Santamaría in 1976
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Emilio Santamaría Iglesias | ||
| Date of birth | 31 July 1929 | ||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | 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 on July 31, 1929, is a famous former football player and manager. He played as a central defender. Santamaría spent 18 years playing for two big clubs: Nacional in Uruguay and Real Madrid in Spain. With Real Madrid, he won an amazing 12 titles, including four European Cups.
Santamaría was born in Uruguay. He played for both the Uruguay and Spain national teams. After his playing career, he became a manager, even leading the Spanish national team for two years.
Contents
Playing for Clubs: A Football Journey
José Santamaría was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. His parents were from Spain. He started his football career playing for a local club called Club Nacional de Football. While playing for Nacional, he helped them win five national championships.
Joining Real Madrid
In 1957, when he was 28 years old, Santamaría moved to Spain. He signed with Real Madrid, one of the biggest football clubs in the world. He stayed with Real Madrid until he retired from playing.
In his first season at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Santamaría played 34 matches in total. These matches were in La Liga (the Spanish league) and the European Cup. He helped Real Madrid win both of these important tournaments that year. Over his time at Real Madrid, he added ten more major trophies to his collection. He was a key player and usually the first choice for his position.
The Wall: Santamaría's Nickname
Santamaría was known for his strong and consistent defending. Because of this, fans and teammates gave him the nickname 'The Wall'. He retired from playing at the end of the 1965–66 season when he was 36. In his final season, he played two matches in the European Cup, which Real Madrid also won. He played a total of 337 competitive matches for Real Madrid.
Managing Teams: A New Role
After retiring as a player, Santamaría became a coach. His first experience coaching a club was with RCD Español in Barcelona. He started there in the summer of 1971.
Success with Espanyol
During his six years with Espanyol, Santamaría led the team to finish in the top four of La Liga twice. In the 1972–73 season, his team finished third, only three points behind the champions, Atlético Madrid. He left Espanyol on December 21, 1977, after a tough loss against Racing de Santander.
Playing for His Country: International Career
Santamaría had a unique international career, playing for two different countries.
Playing for Uruguay
He was first asked to play for the Uruguay team in the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He was considered for a forward position, but his club said no because he was a defender. However, four years later, he was a very important part of the team at the World Cup in Switzerland. Uruguay finished fourth in that tournament. Santamaría played 20 matches for Uruguay in total.
Playing for Spain
Santamaría started playing for the Spain in 1958. His first game for Spain was on October 15 against Northern Ireland. Spain won that friendly match 6–2 in Madrid. He also played for Spain in the 1962 FIFA World Cup. In that tournament, Spain played against Czechoslovakia (losing 1–0) and Mexico (winning 1–0). Spain did not make it past the group stage that year.
Managing Spain's National Team
After coaching youth teams and the under-21s, Santamaría became the main manager for the Spain for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. This World Cup was held in Spain. However, Spain did not get past the second group stage. After the tournament, Santamaría left his role as manager and decided to pursue other interests outside of football.
Trophies and Awards
Here are some of the major titles and awards José Santamaría won during his career:
With Nacional
- Uruguayan Primera División: 1950, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1957
With Real Madrid
- La Liga (Spanish League): 1957–58, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65
- Copa del Generalísimo (Spanish Cup): 1961–62
- European Cup: 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1965–66
- Intercontinental Cup: 1960
Individual Awards
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1954
- World Soccer World XI: 1960
- IFFHS Uruguayan Men's Dream Team
See also
In Spanish: José Santamaría para niños
- List of Spain international footballers born outside Spain
