Rafael Gordillo Vázquez (born 24 February 1957) is a Spanish retired
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 ...
. A tremendously attacking
left wing-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 ...
, equally at ease as
defender and
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
and with a good effort rate, he had an unmistakable style of playing with his socks down.
He represented mainly
Betis and
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 ...
during his career, appearing in 428
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 ...
games and scoring 38 goals over 16 seasons. He won ten major titles with the latter club, including five national championships.
Gordillo was a mainstay for the
Spain national team in the 80s, appearing in 75 matches and representing the nation in five international tournaments.
Club career
Born in
Almendralejo
Almendralejo () is a town in the Province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. It is situated 45 km south-east of Badajoz, on the main road and rail route between Mérida and Seville. , it has a population of 33,975. It was the site of a battle a ...
,
Province of Badajoz
The province of Badajoz () is a province of western Spain located in the autonomous community of Extremadura. It was formed in 1833. It is bordered by the provinces of Cáceres in the north, Toledo, Ciudad Real in the east, Córdoba in the so ...
,
Extremadura
Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...
, Gordillo moved to
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
(from where his parents were originally) when he was just a few months old. He grew up in the ''Polígono de San Pablo'' neighbourhood, and signed with
Real Betis
Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...
in 1972 at the age of 15.
[ On 30 January 1977 he made his first-team and ]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 ...
debut, against Burgos CF
Burgos Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded in 1985, it started to play in 1994. It currently plays in Segunda División, holding home matches at the ''Esta ...
, and helped the Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
ns to win 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 footbal ...
in his first year
A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions.
Ara ...
.
After nine professional seasons with Betis – 12 in total, and another with the reserve side – being named the country's footballer of the year at the end of 1979–80 and appearing in nearly 300 official matches, Gordillo moved to 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 ...
for 1985–86, winning
Winning may refer to:
* Victory
Film
* ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman
* '' Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams
Music
* ''Winning'', an album by Ten Foot Pole, 2022 ...
the UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
in his debut campaign and scoring 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 ...
against 1. FC Köln, and forming a dreaded left-wing partnership with José Antonio Camacho
José Antonio Camacho Alfaro (; born 8 June 1955) is a Spanish former football left-back and manager.
He spent 15 professional years at Real Madrid, appearing in more than 500 official matches with the team and helping win 19 major titles, i ...
during his tenure, with the former playing as a midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
. In 1989's Spanish Cup, he scored 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 ...
's only goal 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 ...
.
Gordillo returned to Betis in 1992 at the age of 35, helping them return to the top division in his second year
Second year (also known as S2 in Scotland) is the second year of schooling in secondary schools in Scotland and in the Republic of Ireland, and is roughly equivalent to Year 9 in England and Wales and Year 10 (Third Form) in Northern Ireland. Mos ...
and retiring after one final season with neighbours Écija Balompié
Écija Balompié, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Écija, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1939, it plays in División de Honor Andaluza, the fifth tier of Spanish football.
History
In 2007–08 season, the club b ...
, also in the 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 the latter, he later worked as director of football
A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...
.
In the following decade, Gordillo returned to Betis also in directorial capacities. On 13 December 2010, he was elected the club's president.
International career
Gordillo earned 75 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 ...
and scored three goals 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 ...
over one decade. His debut came on 29 March 1978, in a friendly 3–0 win over Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
in Gijón
Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cent ...
.
Gordillo went on to represent the country in two FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
s (1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
and 1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
) and three UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
s (1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
, 1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
and 1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
, appearing in all the matches but one in the second competition for an eventual runner-up finish).
International goals
Post-retirement
Gordillo re-joined Betis for a third time, appearing for the club in the indoor soccer
Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...
national league. He also worked briefly for ''laSexta
La Sexta (; "The Sixth"; stylized as laSexta) is a Spanish free-to-air television channel. It is privately owned and was originally founded on 18 March 2001 as Beca TV that began broadcasting on 1 April 2001, that same year. By 21 July 2003, the ...
'' as a sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
, at the 2006 World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
.
Honours
Betis
*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 ...
: 1976–77[
Real Madrid
*]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 ...
: 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90[
*Copa del Rey: 1988–89][
*]Supercopa de España
The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...
: 1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
, 1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, 1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
[
*]UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
: 1985–86[
Spain
*]UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
runner-up: 1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
[
Individual
* Best Spanish player: 1979–80][
]
See also
*List of La Liga players
This article outlines all individuals who have made at least 400 appearances in 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 an ...
(400+ appearances)
*List of Real Betis players
This is the list of notable footballers who have played for Real Betis Balompié. Generally, this means players that have played 100 or more first division matches for the club. However, some players who have played fewer matches are also inc ...
(+100 appearances)
*List of Real Madrid CF players
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a professional association football club based in Madrid, Spain, that plays in La Liga. The club was formed in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, and played its first competitive match on 13 May 1902, when it entered the ...
References
External links
*
Betisweb stats and bio
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordillo, Rafael
1957 births
Living people
People from Almendralejo
Spanish footballers
Footballers from Extremadura
Association football defenders
Association football midfielders
La Liga players
Segunda División players
Betis Deportivo Balompié footballers
Real Betis players
Real Madrid CF players
Écija Balompié players
Spain under-21 international footballers
Spain under-23 international footballers
Spain amateur international footballers
Spain international footballers
UEFA Euro 1980 players
1982 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 1984 players
1986 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 1988 players
UEFA Cup winning players
Spanish beach soccer players
Real Betis non-playing staff