Rafael Martín Vázquez
Encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Martin Vasquez
Martin Vasquez
Martin Vasquez is a Mexican-born American former professional soccer player. He was most recently the head coach of C.D. Chivas USA in Major League Soccer....

.


Rafael Martín Vázquez (born 25 September 1965) is a retired Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, with above-average skills.

He represented most notably Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

, having represented it in two different spells, amassing La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

 totals of 252 games and 42 goals for the club, but also played abroad with some success in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, being unlucky in his other three foreign adventures.

Martín Vázquez appeared for Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...

 in one World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 and one European Championship
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...

, gaining nearly 40 caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

.

Club career

Born in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, Martín Vázquez joined the youth teams of Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

 in 1980 at the age of 15, and made his debuts for the first team three years later, going on to achieve fame as part of the Quinta del Buitre
Quinta del Buitre
La Quinta del Buitre is the moniker given by Spanish sport journalist Julio César Iglesias to the five homegrown Real Madrid players who were at the core of the team that dominated Spanish football in the 1980s. The name was derived from Emilio Butragueño's nickname El Buitre, the most charismatic...

, which still included Míchel, Emilio Butragueño
Emilio Butragueño
Emilio Butragueño Santos is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a striker.He was best known for his spell with Real Madrid...

, Miguel Pardeza and Manolo Sanchís. In 1989–90, as Real achieved a club and La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

 record of 107 goals, he netted a career-best 14 goals, second only in the team to Hugo Sánchez
Hugo Sánchez
Hugo Sánchez Márquez , popularly nicknamed Pentapichichi, or Hugol, is a Mexican football coach and former striker. He played for four European clubs, including Real Madrid. Sanchez is considered the first highly talented Mexican player. He was also a member of the Mexico national team, and...

's 38 successful strikes.

After the arrival of Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

n Gheorghe Hagi
Gheorghe Hagi
Gheorghe Hagi is a former Romanian footballer. He was famous for his passing, close control, long shots and was regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s and is considered the greatest Romanian footballer of all time...

, Martín Vázquez decided to accept the offer of Torino FC
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....

, but failed to settle in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 during his two-season spell (although he did help the team reach the 1992 UEFA Cup final
1992 UEFA Cup Final
The 1992 UEFA Cup Final was played on April 29, 1992 and May 13, 1992 between Ajax of the Netherlands and Torino of Italy. Ajax won on away goals after the two legs were both drawn 2–2 and 0–0.-First leg:-Second leg:-References:*...

). He then moved to Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...

, but only lasted two months in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, after which a return to Real Madrid was arranged. In his two stints with the merengues, he won six leagues, two UEFA Cups and two King's Cups
Copa del Rey
The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....

.

As injuries hit him, Martín Vázquez eventually retired from football at the end of 1998, after unassuming spells with Deportivo de La Coruña
Deportivo de La Coruña
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in Segunda División...

, Club Celaya (where he teamed up with Butragueño) and Karlsruher SC
Karlsruher SC
Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg. KSC rose out of the consolidation of a number of predecessor clubs. They currently play in the 2...

 (German second division
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...

). Afterwards, he worked with Real Madrid as a youth coach, while also keeping fit with the club's veteran team.

International career

Martín Vázquez played 38 times for Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...

, including at UEFA Euro 1988 and the 1990 FIFA World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

. His debut came on 23 September 1987, in a friendly match with Luxembourg
Luxembourg national football team
The Luxembourg national football team is the national football team of Luxembourg, and is controlled by the Luxembourg Football Federation. The team play most of their home matches at the Stade Josy Barthel, in Luxembourg.- History :...

.

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 4 September 1991 Carlos Tartiere
Estadio Carlos Tartiere
Estadio Municipal Carlos Tartiere, generally referred to as Nuevo Carlos Tartiere , is a multi-use stadium in Oviedo, Spain. It holds 30,500 spectators and replaced the former stadium of the same name, built in 1932....

, Oviedo
Oviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 
1–0 2–1 Friendly
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...


Honours

Real Madrid
  • UEFA Cup: 1984–85, 1985–86
  • Spanish League
    La Liga
    The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

    : 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1994–95
  • Spanish Cup
    Copa del Rey
    The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....

    : 1988–89, 1992–93
  • Spanish League Cup
    Copa de la Liga
    The Copa de la Liga was a Spanish football tournament created in 1982.Due to time constraints, saturation and club pressure, the competition only lasted four years, being cancelled in 1986...

    : 1984–85
  • Spanish Supercup
    Supercopa de España
    The Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey...

    : 1988
    1988 Supercopa de España
    The 1988 Supercopa de España was two-leg Spanish football matches played on 21 September and 29 September 1988. It contested by FC Barcelona, who were Spanish Cup winners in 1987–88, and Real Madrid who won the 1987–88 Spanish League. Real Madrid won 3–2 on aggregate.-First leg:-Second...

    , 1989
    Supercopa de España
    The Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey...

    , 1993
    1993 Supercopa de España
    The 1993 Supercopa de España was two-leg Spanish football matches played on 2 December and 16 December 1993. It contested by ,Real Madrid who were Spanish Cup winners in 1992–93, and FC Barcelona who won the 1992–93 Spanish League. Real Madrid won 4–2 on aggregate.-First leg:-Second...



Torino
  • UEFA Cup: Runner-up 1991–92

External links

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