Luis María López Rekarte (born 26 March 1962) is a Spanish former

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 ...

who played mainly as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He amassed

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' ...

totals of 300 games and seven goals over 11 seasons, representing in the competition Deportivo (five years), Real Sociedad and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

(three apiece) and winning six major titles.

Club career

Born in

Mondragón Mondragón ( eu, Arrasate or ''Mondragoe''), officially known as Arrasate/Mondragón, is a town and municipality in Gipuzkoa Province, Basque Country, Spain. Its population in 2015 was 21,933. Economic and historical significance The town is be ...

, Basque Country, López Rekarte's first sport was

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

(with a personal best of 10.05 in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

). He made his professional debut in football with

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded on 1 July 1920 as Sport Friends Club, it ...

amidst the massive financial difficulties the club endured, culminating with the relegation to the Segunda División B in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

. Two years later, he signed with neighbouring Real Sociedad. Forming a defensive quarter with legendary

Alberto Górriz Alberto Górriz Echarte (born 16 February 1958) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mainly as a central defender. His main asset was his heading ability, and he often scored from set pieces. He spent his entire career with Re ...

Agustín Gajate Agustín Gajate Vidriales (born 23 March 1958) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender. Not a skilled player (he was nicknamed ''Zapatones'' (Big shoes)), he excelled in man-marking, and played for Real Sociedad's first ...

and

Juan Antonio Larrañaga Juan Antonio Larrañaga Gurruchaga (alt.spelling Ion Andoni; born 3 July 1958) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a defender. Club career Larrañaga was born in Azpeitia, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country. He started playing as a defensive m ...

, López Rekarte started for a side that won the

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 footb ...

in 1987. The following year, they emerged runners-up in both domestic competitions. López Rekarte joined

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

after losing the 1988 Spanish cup final to the

giants, alongside teammates

José Mari Bakero José María Bakero Escudero (born 11 February 1963) is a Spanish former professional footballer, and a manager. Having played mainly for Real Sociedad and Barcelona, he began his career as a forward (not being a prolific goalscorer) but was c ...

and

Txiki Begiristain Aitor "Txiki" Begiristain Mujika (born 12 August 1964) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mainly as a left winger but also as a forward, currently director of football of English club Manchester City. He was best known for ...

. Relatively used in his first two seasons, he featured rarely in ''Barças 1991 league conquest, all but one of his 13 appearances being as a used substitute. His greatest moment with the

Catalans Catalans (Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citize ...

came in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the 1988–89 Cup Winners' Cup: brought in from the bench, he scored the decisive 2–0 to seal the win. Being a crucial member of a rising

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. They currently play in the Primera División RFEF – ...

side soon dubbed ''Super Depor'' – he never played less than 25 matches during his spell at the

Estadio Riazor Estadio Municipal de Riazor (), also known as Estadio ABANCA-RIAZOR for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater stadium in A Coruña, Spain. The stadium is the home of Deportivo de La Coruña, and accommodates a total of 32,660 spectators, making ...

– López Rekarte retired in 1997 at the age of 35 after another stint in Segunda División, now with RCD Mallorca.

International career

López Rekarte had four

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 Ja ...

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 1988, the first coming in a friendly against

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

on 27 January, in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

(0–0).

Personal life

López Rekarte was the older brother of another professional footballer,

Aitor Aitor is a Basque masculine given name, created by Agosti Xaho for a Basque ancestral patriarch descending from the Biblical Tubal in his work "The Legend of Aitor" (published in French in the journal ''Ariel'', 1845). Koldo Mitxelena believes th ...

, who also played for Real Sociedad, also being a right back and an international. His niece,

Maitane López Maitane López Millán (born 13 March 1995) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for American National Women's Soccer League club NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Spain women's national team. Club career In June 2015, Levan ...

, was also involved in the sport. After retiring, he worked as Aitor's agent. He later engaged in mountaineering.

Honours

Real Sociedad *

: 1986–87 Barcelona *

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

*Copa del Rey: 1989–90 *

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

: 1988–89 Deportivo *Copa del Rey: 1994–95 * Supercopa de España:

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez Rekarte, Luis 1962 births Living people People from Mondragón Spanish men's footballers Men's association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Deportivo Alavés players Real Sociedad footballers FC Barcelona players Deportivo de La Coruña players RCD Mallorca players Spain men's under-23 international footballers Spain men's international footballers Basque Country men's international footballers Footballers from Gipuzkoa