Quini facts for kids
Quini in 1983
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Enrique Castro González | ||
| Date of birth | 23 September 1949 | ||
| Place of birth | Oviedo, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 27 February 2018 (aged 68) | ||
| Place of death | Gijón, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.76 m | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Don Bosco | |||
| Ensidesa | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1967–1968 | Ensidesa | 22 | (17) |
| 1968–1980 | Sporting Gijón | 381 | (214) |
| 1980–1984 | Barcelona | 100 | (54) |
| 1984–1987 | Sporting Gijón | 62 | (17) |
| Total | 567 | (302) | |
| National team | |||
| 1968 | Spain U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 1971 | Spain U23 | 2 | (0) |
| 1969–1972 | Spain amateur | 9 | (11) |
| 1970–1982 | Spain | 35 | (8) |
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Enrique Castro González (born September 23, 1949 – died February 27, 2018), known as Quini, was a famous Spanish football player. He played as a striker, meaning he was responsible for scoring goals.
Quini spent most of his career playing for two big clubs: Sporting de Gijón and FC Barcelona. Many people thought he was one of the best strikers in Spain. He won the Pichichi Trophy seven times. This award is given to the top goal scorer in the Spanish football league. Five of his awards were for the top league, La Liga.
He also played for the Spanish national team for 12 years. Quini played for Spain in two World Cups and one European Championship.
Contents
Quini's Club Career
Quini was born in Oviedo, a city in Asturias, Spain. He started his professional football journey with Sporting de Gijón in 1968. Before that, he played for a smaller team called CD Ensidesa.
Early Success at Sporting Gijón
In his first season in La Liga (Spain's top football league) in 1970–71, Quini scored 13 goals. For the next nine years, he was a consistent scorer. He won the Pichichi Trophy three times while playing for Sporting Gijón. One of these awards was when the team was in the second division, called Segunda División.
It's interesting that in one year, 1975–76, he won his second Pichichi award by scoring 21 goals. But even with all his goals, Sporting Gijón was still moved down to the second division that year.
Joining FC Barcelona
In the summer of 1980, Quini joined FC Barcelona, a very famous club. Barcelona had tried to sign him before, especially after Sporting Gijón was relegated.
In his first two years with Barcelona, he scored 47 goals in the league. This helped him win two more Pichichi awards. He also helped Barcelona win the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) in 1981. In the final match, he scored two goals against his old team, Sporting Gijón, helping Barcelona win 3–1.
Quini also helped Barcelona win the 1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup. This was a big European competition. Barcelona beat Standard Liège from Belgium 2–1 in the final, which was played at Barcelona's home stadium, the Camp Nou.
Later Years and Retirement
In his last two years at Barcelona, Quini did not play as often. However, he scored Barcelona's 3,000th goal in the league! This happened in a home game against CD Castellón.
Quini decided to retire in 1984 when he was 35 years old. He even had a special match to celebrate his career. But he changed his mind and went back to play for Sporting Gijón for three more years. He didn't play as much during this time.
On June 14, 1987, Quini played his very last match against Barcelona. He played a total of 448 games and scored 219 goals in the top Spanish league. This makes him one of the top goal scorers of all time. After he stopped playing, Quini continued to work for Sporting Gijón in different management roles.
A Difficult Time: The Kidnapping
On March 1, 1981, something very serious happened to Quini. After he scored two goals for Barcelona in a big 6–0 win, he was taken by two men. They forced him into a van.
For 25 days, Quini was missing. During this time, Barcelona struggled in their games and ended up losing their chance to win the league title. Luckily, with help from Spanish and Swiss police, Quini was found safe and unharmed.
Playing for Spain
Quini played his first game for the Spanish national team on October 28, 1970. It was a friendly match against Greece in Zaragoza. He came on in the second half and scored a goal, helping Spain win 2–1.
He played a total of 35 games for Spain and scored eight goals. Quini represented his country in two World Cups: in 1978 and 1982. He also played in the UEFA Euro 1980 tournament. He scored one goal in these big tournaments, which was at Euro '80, but Spain lost that game 2–1 against Belgium.
Quini's Personal Life
Quini had a younger brother named Jesús, who was also a football player. Jesús was a goalkeeper and also played for Sporting Gijón for many years.
In 2008, Quini bravely fought and recovered from throat cancer. On April 29, 2016, the city of Gijón honored him by making him an "adoptive son" of the city.
His Passing
On February 27, 2018, Quini sadly passed away at the age of 68 after having a heart attack. Just one day later, the City Council of Gijón decided to rename the El Molinón stadium, which was Sporting Gijón's home ground, in his memory. It is now called Estadio El Molinón-Enrique Castro "Quini".
About 14,000 people came to Quini's funeral at the stadium to say goodbye to the football legend.
Career Highlights
Quini had an amazing career, scoring many goals and winning several important trophies.
Club Honours
Sporting Gijón
- Segunda División: 1969–70, 1976–77 (These are titles for winning the second division league)
Barcelona
- Copa del Rey: 1980–81, 1982–83 (Spain's main cup competition)
- Supercopa de España: 1983 (A Spanish super cup)
- Copa de la Liga: 1983 (A Spanish league cup)
- UEFA Cup Winners Cup: 1981–82 (A European club competition)
Individual Awards
- Don Balón Award – Best Spanish Player: 1978–79
- Pichichi Trophy:
- La Liga (top division): 1973–74, 1975–76, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82
- Segunda División (second division): 1969–70, 1976–77
Images for kids
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Quini in 1983
See also
- List of FC Barcelona players (100+ appearances)
- List of La Liga players (400+ appearances)
- List of Sporting de Gijón players (100+ appearances)
