Manu Sánchez (footballer, born 1979)

Antonio Manuel 'Manu' Sánchez Gómez (born 25 January 1979) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central midfielder.

Manu Sánchez
Personal information
Full name Antonio Manuel Sánchez Gómez
Date of birth (1979-01-25) 25 January 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth Fuengirola, Spain
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–1999 Real Madrid C
1998–2001 Real Madrid B 68 (9)
2002–2007 Málaga 97 (7)
2007–2008 Hércules 10 (0)
2009–2010 Antequera 10 (1)
Total 185 (17)
International career
1997 Spain U17 4 (2)
1997–1998 Spain U18 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Sánchez was born in Fuengirola, Province of Málaga. He came through the ranks of Real Madrid but never made it past the reserves;[1] he was however included in their squad for the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship.[2] He joined local Málaga CF in January 2002, being relatively used over five and a half seasons.

Manu's best output came in the 2002–03 campaign, with six La Liga goals in 36 appearances – including a brace against Athletic Bilbao on 9 March 2003 for a 3–0 home win[3][4][5][6][7]– with Málaga finishing 13th. Previously, he had helped the Andalusia team to reach the UEFA Cup via success in the Intertoto Cup.[8]

In the summer of 2007, after having appeared in only three Segunda División games during the season due to contractual problems, Sánchez signed with Hércules CF in the same league,[9] being released at the end of the campaign after playing just ten out of a possible 42 matches. In early 2009 he joined lowly Antequera CF in a return to his native region,[10] with the club being eventually relegated to Tercera División.

Honours

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Málaga

References

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  1. ^ Montero, Mario (19 December 2002). ""No quiero volver al Real Madrid, sino triunfar aquí"" ["I don't want to return to Real Madrid, I want to make it big here instead"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  2. ^ Narváez, Diego (4 March 2003). "Manu, el alumno aplicado" [Manu, the hard-working student]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Angulo salva al Valencia de su primera derrota" [Angulo saves Valencia from first loss]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 22 September 2002. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  4. ^ Guisasola, Carlos (6 October 2002). "El Málaga no pone límites a su ilusión" [The sky is the limit for Málaga]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  5. ^ "El Málaga se divierte ante el Athletic" [Málaga have fun against Athletic]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 9 March 2003. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  6. ^ "Tamudo saca al Espanyol del descenso" [Tamudo takes Espanyol from relegation]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 16 March 2003. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  7. ^ Fornet, Óscar (18 May 2003). "El Málaga facilita el regreso del Madrid al Bernabéu" [Málaga make Madrid's return to the Bernabéu easy]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  8. ^ a b "The Intertoto comes of age". Málaga CF. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Manu, sin rencores hacia el Málaga, su ex equipo" [Manu, holding no grudges against Málaga, his former team]. 20 minutos (in Spanish). 13 December 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  10. ^ Sánchez, Alejandro (25 February 2009). "Óscar Silva: "No esperaba que la Balona estuviese tan abajo"" [Óscar Silva: "I did not expect for Balona to be this bad in the table"] (in Spanish). Andalucía Información. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
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