Advertisement
Advertisement
Former Real Madrid player and Spain’s 1982 World Cup coach Jose Emilio Santamaria has died at the age of 96, Los Blancos said on Wednesday.
Centre-back Santamaria, who joined Real Madrid in 1957 from Uruguayan side Nacional, played in one of the most decorated eras in the club’s history.
“Real Madrid wishes to express its condolences and affection to his wife Nora, his children Nelson, Nora, Beatriz, José, Silvia, and Javier, his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and all his family, teammates, and loved ones,” said Real Madrid in a statement.
He won 4 European Cups, 1 Intercontinental Cup, 6 La Liga titles, and 1 Spanish Cup with Real Madrid, across 337 matches.
He was part of that legendary team that won the first European Cups in history consecutively, initiating the universal legend of Real Madrid.
“Alongside Di Stefano, Puskas, Gento and Kopa, that team began to build the legend of Real Madrid,” said Los Blancos chief Florentino Perez.
He played 25 times for Uruguay before becoming a naturalised Spaniard and playing at the 1962 World Cup for Spain, whom he went on to coach.
As a coach, Santamaria began his career the year after retiring as a player, in Real Madrid’s youth academy.
He managed the Spanish Olympic team at the 1968 Mexico Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics. In 1982, he was the Spanish national team coach at the World Cup in Spain.
From 1971, for seven seasons, he managed R. C. D. Espanyol in 252 matches, becoming the coach with the most official matches in the club’s history.
READ: PSG beat Liverpool to reach Champions League semi-finals
