Juan Carlos Ablanedo facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Juan Carlos Ablanedo Iglesias | ||
| Date of birth | 2 September 1963 | ||
| Place of birth | Mieres, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.77 m | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Sporting Gijón | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1981–1984 | Sporting Gijón B | 94 | (0) |
| 1983–1999 | Sporting Gijón | 401 | (0) |
| Total | 495 | (0) | |
| National team | |||
| 1981–1982 | Spain U18 | 10 | (0) |
| 1984–1986 | Spain U21 | 12 | (0) |
| 1986–1987 | Spain U23 | 2 | (0) |
| 1986–1991 | Spain | 4 | (0) |
|
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Juan Carlos Ablanedo Iglesias (born September 2, 1963) is a Spanish former professional footballer. He was a talented goalkeeper, known for his amazing reflexes. People often called him El gato, which means "The Cat" in Spanish, because of how quick and agile he was. He spent almost his entire career playing for the local club Sporting de Gijón.
Contents
Playing for Sporting Gijón
Juan Carlos Ablanedo was born in Mieres, a town in Asturias, Spain. He grew up playing football and joined the famous youth system of Sporting de Gijón, called Mareo. He made his first appearance for the main team on January 2, 1983. He came into the game as a substitute after the main goalkeeper was sent off.
After playing a few more games, Ablanedo quickly became the main goalkeeper for Sporting Gijón. He played an incredible 399 matches in La Liga, which is Spain's top football league. In the 1986–87 season, he played in 42 out of 44 league matches, helping Sporting finish in a strong fourth place.
Ablanedo retired from football in 1999. By then, Sporting Gijón was playing in the Segunda División, Spain's second division. He faced some serious injuries during his career. For example, he only played two games in his last season and none at all in the 1991–92 season. Despite these challenges, he won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy three times. This award is given to the goalkeeper with the lowest goals-to-games ratio in La Liga.
Playing for Spain
Ablanedo also played for the Spanish national team four times. His first game for Spain was on September 24, 1986, in a friendly match against Greece. Spain won that game 3–1. He was also chosen as a backup goalkeeper for Spain in two major tournaments: the 1986 FIFA World Cup and the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
Before playing for the senior national team, Ablanedo helped Spain's under-21 team win the 1986 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. This was a big achievement for the young Spanish team.
Family Life
Juan Carlos Ablanedo's older brother, José Luis Ablanedo, was also a professional footballer. José Luis was a defender and also played several seasons for Sporting Gijón. Because both brothers played for the same club, they were often known as Ablanedo I (for José Luis, the older brother) and Ablanedo II (for Juan Carlos).
Awards and Achievements
Team Honours
- Spain U21
Individual Honours
- Ricardo Zamora Trophy
- 1984–85
- 1985–86
- 1989–90
See also
In Spanish: Juan Carlos Ablanedo para niños
- List of one-club men
