Santillana (footballer) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Santillana

Santillana in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Alonso González
Date of birth	(1952-08-23) 23 August 1952 (age 72)
Place of birth	Santillana del Mar, Spain
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
	Satélite
1966–1970	Barreda
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1970–1971	Racing Santander	35	(16)
1971–1988	Real Madrid	461	(186)
Total		496	(202)
National team
1970	Spain U18	1	(0)
1971	Spain U23	1	(0)
1971–1976	Spain amateur	6	(3)
1981	Spain B	1	(1)
1975–1985	Spain	56	(15)
Honours Representing  Spain UEFA European Championship Runner-up 1984 France
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Carlos Alonso González (born 23 August 1952), known as Santillana, is a Spanish former footballer who played as a striker.

He was best known for his Real Madrid spell, which consisted of 17 La Liga seasons and 645 competitive matches. He signed with the club in 1971, from Racing de Santander.

The recipient of more than 50 caps for Spain, Santillana represented the nation in two World Cups and as many European Championships.

Club career

Born in Santillana del Mar, Cantabria, Santillana (his nickname taken from his birthplace) started playing professionally with local Racing de Santander. He moved to Real Madrid and La Liga in 1971 alongside teammate Francisco Aguilar, aged just 19, and scored ten goals in 34 games in his debut season as the team were crowned league champions.

Santillana went on to win nine league titles, four Copa del Reys and two consecutive UEFA Cups, scoring in both finals. He played 645 first-team matches – a record which stood until Manolo Sanchís surpassed him during the 1997–98 campaign – and scored 290 goals; the eighth-highest all-time scorer in the first division, with 186 goals in 461 appearances, he never won the Pichichi Trophy.

After just 12 league appearances in 1987–88, in which he scored four times, Santillana retired from football at almost 36, finding the net in a 2–1 home win against Real Valladolid. Madrid won three titles in a row in his final three seasons.

International career

Santillana played 56 times and scored 15 goals for the Spain national team, his debut being on 17 April 1975 in a 1–1 draw with Romania for the UEFA Euro 1976 qualifiers held in Madrid. He represented his country in the 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cups, as well as three European Championships: 1976, reaching the quarter-finals, 1980, failing to advance to the second round, and 1984 which ended with a runner-up finish to hosts France, with the player coming close to scoring the opener on a header saved just off the line by Luis Fernández.

On 21 December 1983, during a European Championship qualifying match against Malta that had to be won by 11 goals in order to qualify, Santillana scored a hat-trick in the first half and added a fourth in the second period, as Spain won 12–1 and qualified at the expense of the Netherlands.

Style of play

Santillana possessed stellar heading skills despite not reaching 1.80 m, courtesy of his jumping ability, and was widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the history of Spanish football.

Career statistics

Club

International

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 November 1975	23 August, Bucharest, Romania	Romania	0–2	2–2	Euro 1976 qualifying
2.	24 April 1976	Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain	West Germany	1–0	1–1	Euro 1976 qualifying
3.	4 October 1978	Maksimir, Zagreb, Yugoslavia	Yugoslavia	0–2	1–2	Euro 1980 qualifying
4.	13 December 1978	El Helmántico, Salamanca, Spain	Cyprus	3–0	5–0	Euro 1980 qualifying
5.				5–0
6.	9 December 1979	Tsirion, Limassol, Cyprus	Cyprus	0–2	1–3	Euro 1980 qualifying
7.	27 April 1983	La Romareda, Zaragoza, Spain	Republic of Ireland	1–0	2–0	Euro 1984 qualifying
8.	16 November 1983	De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands	1–1	2–1	Euro 1984 qualifying
9.	21 December 1983	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Malta	1–0	12–1	Euro 1984 qualifying
10.				2–1
11.				3–1
12.				9–1
13.	11 April 1984	Luis Casanova, Valencia, Spain	Denmark	1–1	2–1	Friendly
14.	26 May 1984	Charmilles, Geneva, Switzerland	Switzerland	0–1	0–4	Friendly
15.	17 June 1984	Vélodrome, Marseille, France	Portugal	1–1	1–1	UEFA Euro 1984

Honours

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88
• Copa del Rey: 1973–74, 1974–75, 1979–80, 1981–82
• Copa de la Liga: 1985
• UEFA Cup: 1984–85, 1985–86

Spain

• UEFA European Championship runner-up: 1984

Individual

• Pichichi Trophy (Segunda División): 1970–71

See also

In Spanish: Santillana (futbolista) para niños

• List of La Liga players (400+ appearances)
• List of Real Madrid CF records and statistics