Míchel (footballer)

José Miguel González Martín del Campo, known as Míchel (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmitʃel]; born 23 March 1963), is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a right midfielder, and a current manager.

He was most noted for his stellar crossing ability, also contributing with a fair share of goals.^[1] During his career he represented mainly Real Madrid – over a decade – achieving great team and individual success.

Míchel gained nearly 70 caps for Spain from 1985 to 1992, and appeared for the nation in two World Cups (scoring four goals in the 1990 edition) and one European Championship. He started working as a manager in 2005, notably leading Olympiacos to two Superleague Greece accolades.

Club career

Playing

The son of a footballer who had to retire from the game at 27 after a road accident, Míchel was born in Madrid and joined Real Madrid at the age of thirteen,^[2] his technique and physicality on the pitch quickly standing out.^[1] He moved quickly through the ranks to the first team, appearing – and scoring – once in the 1981–82 season, in a 2–1 away win against CD Castellón on 11 April 1982.

A member of the renowned Quinta del Buitre, which also featured Emilio Butragueño, Miguel Pardeza, Rafael Martín Vázquez and Manuel Sanchís,^[2] Míchel never played less than 31 La Liga contests from 1985 to 1994. After helping Castilla CF to the second division title in 1984, he was instrumental in the capital club's conquests, which included six leagues and two consecutive UEFA Cups; he opened the score in the 1985 final of the latter competition, against Videoton FC.^[2]

In 1989, Míchel announced he would leave Real Madrid after having signed with an Italian side, but this never came to pass and he ended up staying until 1996. In his penultimate season, he suffered a severe knee injury which rendered him unavailable for several months,^[2] but still bounced back for a final solid year, after which he left for Club Celaya in Mexico – where Butragueño was also playing – shortly after the arrival at Madrid of president Lorenzo Sanz. He retired from football in 1997.^[1]

Míchel's career was not without incident: in 1988, he was hit by a bottle while on the pitch and, three years later, he was sanctioned by UEFA for using an unorthodox method of disrupting the concentration of Carlos Valderrama, in a game against Real Valladolid. The presiding judge in the case noted that "manipulating in public that of your neighbour which is a gift given exclusively to males by nature" violated a federation rule protecting a player's dignity.^[3][4]

Managerial

In the summer of 2005, after working as a sports commentator with RTVE after his retirement (still active, he had already worked in the capacity at the 1994 World Cup) and also writing articles for Madrid's Marca,^[2] Míchel was appointed manager of Rayo Vallecano.^[5] The following year he returned to his alma mater as director of Real Madrid's sports city, the entire youth system, and manager duties at Real Madrid Castilla,^[6] where he coached one of his sons, Adrián; under his management the side dropped down a level into the third and he was sacked, also leaving his post in the youth sides due to disagreements with president Ramón Calderón.^[7]

On 27 April 2009, Míchel was appointed as coach of top flight strugglers Getafe CF until the end of the season. He replaced former FC Barcelona midfielder Víctor Muñoz,^[8] and also managed Adrián, helping the club avoid relegation in the last matchday, and renewing his contract for two more years in the following week; he was relieved of his duties at the end of 2010–11, with the team again managing to stay afloat after finishing 16th, just one point clear of the relegation zone.

Míchel joined Sevilla FC on 6 February 2012, replacing fired Marcelino García Toral and signing until the end of the season.^[9] On 14 January of the following year, after a 0–2 away loss to Valencia CF that left the Andalusians in 12th place, he was relieved of his duties.^[10]

Míchel moved to Olympiacos F.C. in the Superleague Greece on 1 February 2013, penning a contract until June 2015.^[11] In his first 18 months in charge, he won two national championships and the 2013 Greek Cup;^[12] he was fired on 6 January 2015, whilst the side was still competing in the Europa League and only a point behind PAOK FC in the domestic campaign.^[13]

On 19 August 2015, Míchel succeeded Marcelo Bielsa at the helm of Olympique de Marseille. He was sacked the following 19 April for his behaviour, with the team ranking 15th in Ligue 1.^[14]

International career

Míchel made his debut for the Spanish national team on 20 November 1985 against Austria,^[15] going on to appear in a further 65 internationals and score 21 goals (only missed a callup due to injury).^[16] He played in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, netting a hat-trick against South Korea in Spain's second game (3–1)^[17] and also a penalty against Belgium in the country's final group match.^[18]

Shortly after Javier Clemente's arrival as national boss, Míchel was deemed surplus to requirements and never called again, although only 29.^[19] All national categories comprised, he received exactly 100 caps.^[1]

International goals

^[16]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	18 December 1985	Luis Casanova, Valencia, Spain	Bulgaria	1–0	2–0	Friendly
2.	12 November 1986	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Romania	1–0	1–0	Euro 1988 qualifying
3.	14 October 1987	Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain	Austria	1–0	2–0	Euro 1988 qualifying
4.	18 November 1987	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Albania	3–0	5–0	Euro 1988 qualifying
5.	11 June 1988	Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany	Denmark	0–1	2–3	UEFA Euro 1988
6.	14 September 1988	Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo, Spain	Yugoslavia	1–0	1–2	Friendly
7.	21 December 1988	Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain	Northern Ireland	3–0	4–0	1990 World Cup qualification
8.	22 January 1989	Ta' Qali, Attard, Malta	Malta	0–1	0–2	1990 World Cup qualification
9.	23 March 1989	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Malta	1–0	4–0	1990 World Cup qualification
10.	23 March 1989	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Malta	2–0	4–0	1990 World Cup qualification
11.	20 September 1989	Riazor, A Coruña, Spain	Poland	1–0	1–0	Friendly
12.	11 November 1989	Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	0–2	2–2	1990 World Cup qualification
13.	13 December 1989	Heliodoro Rodríguez, Tenerife, Spain	Switzerland	1–0	2–1	Friendly
14.	17 June 1990	Friuli, Udine, Italy	South Korea	1–0	3–1	1990 FIFA World Cup
15.	17 June 1990	Friuli, Udine, Italy	South Korea	2–1	3–1	1990 FIFA World Cup
16.	17 June 1990	Friuli, Udine, Italy	South Korea	3–1	3–1	1990 FIFA World Cup
17.	21 June 1990	Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona, Italy	Belgium	0–1	1–2	1990 FIFA World Cup
18.	12 September 1990	El Molinón, Gijón, Spain	Brazil	3–0	3–0	Friendly
19.	13 November 1991	Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain	Czechoslovakia	2–1	2–1	Euro 1992 qualifying
20.	22 April 1992	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Albania	1–0	3–0	1994 World Cup qualification
21.	22 April 1992	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Albania	2–0	3–0	1994 World Cup qualification

Club statistics

^[20]

Managerial statistics

As of 20 April 2016

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	Win %
Rayo Vallecano[21]		2005	2006	7001420000000000000♠42	7001180000000000000♠18	7001150000000000000♠15	7000900000000000000♠9	7001428600000000000♠42.86
Real Madrid B[22]		2006	2007	7001420000000000000♠42	7001130000000000000♠13	7001100000000000000♠10	7001190000000000000♠19	7001309500000000000♠30.95
Getafe[23][24][25]		27 April 2009	8 June 2011	7002101000000000000♠101	7001390000000000000♠39	7001220000000000000♠22	7001400000000000000♠40	7001386100000000000♠38.61
Sevilla[26][27]		6 February 2012	14 January 2013	7001400000000000000♠40	7001160000000000000♠16	7000700000000000000♠7	7001170000000000000♠17	7001400000000000000♠40.00
Olympiacos[28][29][30]		1 February 2013	6 January 2015	7001900000000000000♠90	7001640000000000000♠64	7001110000000000000♠11	7001150000000000000♠15	7001711100000000000♠71.11
Marseille[31]		19 August 2015	19 April 2016	7001460000000000000♠46	7001170000000000000♠17	7001170000000000000♠17	7001120000000000000♠12	7001369600000000000♠36.96
Career Total				7002361000000000000♠361	7002167000000000000♠167	7001820000000000000♠82	7002112000000000000♠112	7001462600000000000♠46.26

Honours

Player

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1994–95
• Copa del Rey: 1988–89, 1992–93
• Copa de la Liga: 1984–85
• Supercopa de España: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993
• UEFA Cup: 1984–85, 1985–86
• Copa Iberoamericana: 1994

Manager

Olympiacos

• Superleague Greece: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15
• Greek Football Cup: 2012–13

Individual

• La Liga Spanish Player of the Year: 1986
• European Cup: Top Scorer 1988
• FIFA World Cup: Bronze Boot: 1990
• Ballon d'Or: 4th Place 1987

References

External links

• Míchel profile at BDFutbol
• Míchel manager profile at BDFutbol
• Míchel at National-Football-Teams.com
• Míchel – FIFA competition record
• Stats at Medio Tiempo (Spanish)

Spain squads
Spain squad – 1986 FIFA World Cup 1 Zubizarreta 2 Tomás 3 Camacho (c) 4 Maceda 5 Víctor 6 Gordillo 7 Señor 8 Goikoetxea 9 Butragueño 10 Carrasco 11 Julio Alberto 12 Setién 13 Urruti 14 Gallego 15 Chendo 16 Rincón 17 Francisco 18 Calderé 19 Salinas 20 Eloy 21 Míchel 22 Ablanedo Coach: Muñoz Spain squad – UEFA Euro 1988 1 Zubizarreta 2 Tomás 3 Camacho (c) 4 Andrinúa 5 Víctor 6 Calderé 7 Salinas 8 M. Sanchís 9 Butragueño 10 Eloy 11 Gordillo 12 Diego 13 Buyo 14 Gallego 15 Eusebio 16 Bakero 17 Begiristain 18 Soler 19 M. Vázquez 20 Míchel Coach: Muñoz Spain squad – 1990 FIFA World Cup 1 Zubizarreta 2 Chendo 3 Jiménez 4 Andrinúa 5 Sanchís 6 Vázquez 7 Pardeza 8 Quique 9 Butragueño (c) 10 Fernando 11 Villarroya 12 Alkorta 13 Ablanedo 14 Górriz 15 Roberto 16 Bakero 17 Hierro 18 Rafa Paz 19 Salinas 20 Manolo 21 Míchel 22 Ochotorena Coach: Suárez