José Luis Santamaría

Spanish footballer
José Luis Santamaría
Personal information
Full name José Luis Santamaría Buitrago
Date of birth (1973-01-14) 14 January 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1995 Real Madrid B 61 (0)
1995–2004 Valladolid 165 (1)
Total 226 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

José Luis Santamaría Buitrago (born 14 January 1973) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a central defender.

Club career

After unsuccessfully rising through the ranks of Real Madrid, Madrid-born Santamaría joined Real Valladolid for the 1995–96 campaign,[1] appearing in 41 La Liga matches in his second season and subsequently becoming an essential defensive player. For three years, he often partnered another Real Madrid youth product in the back-four, José García Calvo.

From 2000 to 2004, however, a bad run with injuries and subsequent loss of form limited Santamaría to just 18 games (none in his last year), and he retired in June 2004 with 185 competitive appearances for the Castile and León club.[1] His only goal as a professional and in the top flight occurred on 1 March 1998, when he opened a 2–1 home win against CD Tenerife.[2]

Personal life

Santamaría was nicknamed "Funny One" during his playing career, due to his love for books.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Un 'rara avis' en el fútbol" [A 'rara avis' in football]. El Día de Valladolid (in Spanish). 15 July 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  2. ^ Alvarado, Arturo (2 March 1998). "Aburrimiento en Pucela" [Boredom in Pucela]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 October 2017.

External links

  • José Luis Santamaría at BDFutbol