Manolo Peña facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Peña Escontrela | ||
| Date of birth | 18 December 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Lugo, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 13 November 2012 (aged 46) | ||
| Place of death | Ponferrada, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | 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 (born December 18, 1965 – died November 13, 2012) was a Spanish professional footballer. He played as a forward, which means he was mainly focused on scoring goals.
Manolo Peña played for ten seasons in Spain's top football league, La Liga. He played a total of 189 games and scored 27 goals for two famous clubs: Valladolid and Zaragoza.
Contents
Manolo's Club Football Journey
Manolo Peña was born in Lugo, a city in Galicia, Spain. When he was just 17 years old, he joined Real Valladolid. He played for this club for seven years in a row in La Liga.
One of his best seasons was in 1987–88. He scored eight goals in 29 games for Valladolid. This helped his team finish in eighth place in the league. A really exciting moment was when he scored three goals in one game (a hat-trick) against FC Barcelona! Valladolid won that game 4–2 at Barcelona's home stadium, the Camp Nou. He even scored another hat-trick against Barcelona in a different game, which ended in a 1–1 draw.
After playing for Valladolid, Manolo Peña also played for Real Zaragoza in the top league. Later, he played for Cádiz CF. He retired from professional football in June 2000. Before retiring, he spent six years playing in lower leagues, mostly for SD Ponferradina. This was the same club where he started his football journey!
Playing for Spain's Youth Teams
Manolo Peña also represented his country, Spain, in youth football. He played a total of 14 games for different Spanish youth teams.
He was part of the Spanish under-20 team that finished second in the 1985 FIFA World Youth Championship. This big tournament took place in the Soviet Union. Manolo played in two important games during the group stage: one against Brazil and another against the Republic of Ireland.
Manolo's Life After Football
After he stopped playing football, Manolo Peña lived in Ponferrada, a city in Spain. He worked for the city council there. Sadly, Manolo passed away on November 13, 2012, at the age of 46.
See also
In Spanish: Manolo Peña para niños
