Santillana

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Santillana played 645 first-team matches for Real Madrid – a record which stood until Manolo Sanchís surpassed him during the 1997–98 campaign – and scored 290 goals. He won nine league titles, four Copa del Reys and two consecutive UEFA Cups, scoring in both finals. He never won the Pichichi Trophy. He retired at age 35 after 12 league appearances in 1987–88, scoring four times, and found the net in a 2–1 home win against Real Valladolid in his final match.

In Their Own Story

On 21 December 1983, during a European Championship qualifying match against Malta that had to be won by 11 goals, 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. He 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.

Reader's Guide

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.

Did You Know?

• He scored a hat-trick in the first half and a fourth goal in the second half of Spain's 12–1 win over Malta on 21 December 1983.
• Santillana never won the Pichichi Trophy in La Liga, but he won the Pichichi Trophy in the Segunda División in 1970–71.