Álvaro Rodríguez Ros (16 January 1936 – 16 June 2018), commonly known as Alvarito, was a Spanish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

defender and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Club career

Alvarito was born in Ujo,

Mieres Mieres is a municipality of Asturias, northern Spain, with approximately 38,000 inhabitants. The municipality of Mieres is made up of the capital, Mieres del Camino and the villages of Baiña, Figaredo, Cenera, Loredo, La Peña, La Rebollada, S ...

. After playing for two clubs in his native

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...

, he joined the professionals in 1955, going on to spend two seasons in

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

with

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926 as a result of the merger of two clubs who had maintained a large sporting rivalry for years in the city: ''Real Stadium Club Ovetense'' and ''Real Club De ...

also in his region of birth. In summer 1957, he joined

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

side

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

alongside teammate Toni Cuervo, also a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

.Siempre quiso jugar en el Atleti (He always wanted to play for Atleti)

Mundo Deportivo ''Mundo Deportivo'' (; meaning ''Sports World'' in English) is a Spanish nationwide daily sports newspaper published in Barcelona. History and profile ''Mundo Deportivo'' was first published on 1 February 1906, as a weekly newspaper, and since 1 ...

, 13 October 2004 (in Spanish) Cuervo returned to Oviedo shortly after a health problem halted his progression, but Alvarito stayed with Atlético, helping them to back-to-back

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

conquests, both won at the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-larg ...

against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. He never appeared in more than nine league games for the club during his six-year spell as no substitutions were allowed at that time, and often played understudy to

Isacio Calleja Isacio Calleja García (6 December 1936 – 4 February 2019) was a Spanish professional footballer who played as a defender. Club career Calleja was born in Valle de Cerrato, Province of Palencia. Save for a very brief loan spell with CD Gua ...

; he also suffered a

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

and

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...

injury, in a match against

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club colo ...

. Alvarito's last season in his country's top division would be 1963–64, playing the most he had in years to help

Real Murcia Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, playing ho ...

finish in 12th position and scoring his first and only goal in the competition on 16 February 1964, in a 1–0 home win over former team Oviedo. Subsequently, he plied his trade in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, Canada and the United States – very briefly returning to Spain to appear for

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), (from the 2020–21 season onwards competing under the umbrella of Unión Futbolística Cordobesa, S.A.D.) is a Spanish football club based in Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1951 as ...

– acting as

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

for Shelbourne. He retired in 1970, at the age of 34. Subsequently, Alvarito worked as a manager, never in higher than

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

.Fallece a los 82 años Álvaro Rodríguez Ros, 'Alvarito', ex entrenador de la U.D. Melilla (Death of former U.D. Melilla manager Álvaro Rodríguez Ros, 'Alvarito', at the age of 82)
Melilla Hoy, 17 June 2018 (in Spanish)

International career

Alvarito earned two

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in July 1960, in as many away

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

: on the 14th, he made his debut in a 4–0 win against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. Ten days later, he appeared in a 0–2 loss with

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Death

Alvarito died on 16 June 2018 in

Huércal-Overa Huércal-Overa is a town and a municipality of Almería province, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain, located near the border with the province of Murcia. The population of Huércal-Overa in 2018 was 18, 816. Huércal-Overa is ...

Province of Almería Almería (, also , ) is a province of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Granada, Murcia, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is the homonymous city of Almería. Almería has an area of . With 701, ...

, at the age of 82.La RFEF lamenta el fallecimiento de Álvaro Rodríguez Ros "Alvarito" (RSFF mourn passing of Álvaro Rodríguez Ros "Alvarito")

Royal Spanish Football Federation The Royal Spanish Football Federation ( es, Real Federación Española de Fútbol; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. It is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid. It was founded on 14 October 1909 ...

, 16 June 2018 (in Spanish)

Honours

Atlético Madrid *

Copa del Generalísimo The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

: 1959–60, 1960–61

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarito 1936 births 2018 deaths Footballers from Mieres, Asturias Spanish footballers Men's association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Caudal Deportivo footballers Real Oviedo players Atlético Madrid footballers Real Murcia players Córdoba CF players League of Ireland players Shelbourne F.C. players Vancouver Royals players Spain men's B international footballers Spain men's international footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Expatriate soccer players in Canada Spanish football managers Shelbourne F.C. managers Segunda División B managers UD Melilla managers Spanish expatriate football managers