Juan Carlos Pérez López (14 February 1945 – 16 January 2012), known as Juan Carlos, was a Spanish
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
midfielder.
His 14-year professional career was closely associated with
Racing de Santander and
Barcelona, having
captained both clubs and appeared in 238
La Liga games over the course of ten seasons (22 goals scored).
Club career
Born in
Santander
Santander may refer to:
Places
* Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain
* Santander Department, a department of Colombia
* Santander State, former state of Colombia
* Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
,
Cantabria, Juan Carlos started his professional career with local
Racing de Santander after being promoted from its reserve side,
Rayo Cantabria, in early 1966. He played two full seasons with the team, being relegated from
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 ...
in
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
.
In the following off-season, Juan Carlos signed with
La Liga powerhouse
FC Barcelona, making his debut in the competition on 24 November 1968 in a 1–0 home win against
RCD Español
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...
. He only totalled 19 league appearances in his first two campaigns (four goals), mainly due to injuries.
Subsequently, Juan Carlos became a first-team regular, also managing to be
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
of a team which also included
Johan Cruyff,
Johan Neeskens and
Carles Rexach. In
1973–74 he won the national championship – his second major trophy with the
Catalans – contributing a career-best seven goals in 34 games, including the fourth in a 5–0 win at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium over
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 ...
.
In the 1975 summer, Juan Carlos returned to his previous club, now in the top division, playing a further three seasons. On 7 May 1978 he appeared in his last game, scoring in a 1–0 win against
Sporting de Gijón which
certified Racing's permanence in the competition.
International career
Juan Carlos earned two
caps for
Spain, over a three-month period. His debut arrived on 24 November 1973 in a
friendly
Friendly may refer to:
Places
* Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England
* Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States
* ...
with
West Germany, playing 45 minutes in the 1–2 loss in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
.
Death
Juan Carlos died on 16 January 2012 at the age of 66, in his hometown of Santander, after a long battle with illness.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Juan Carlos
1945 births
2012 deaths
Spanish men's footballers
Footballers from Santander, Spain
Men's association football midfielders
La Liga players
Segunda División players
Tercera División players
Rayo Cantabria players
Gimnástica de Torrelavega footballers
Racing de Santander players
FC Barcelona players
Spain men's international footballers