César Sánchez Domínguez (; born 2 September 1971), sometimes known as simply César, is a Spanish retired
footballer who played as a
goalkeeper.
In 20
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
seasons, he played 401 games, with
Valladolid
Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
,
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
,
Zaragoza
Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
,
Valencia
Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
and
Villarreal, being first choice in three of those clubs and winning seven major titles with the second, including the
2002 Champions League. He also appeared once for
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
.
From January to June 2020, César was
sporting director at Valencia.
Club career
Valladolid and Real Madrid
César was born in
Coria, Cáceres,
Extremadura
Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...
. He graduated from
Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the .
The club ...
's youth academy, and made his debut with the first team in a 0–6 home defeat against
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
where he
came on for
Mauro Ravnić early into the second half, at the end of the
1991–92 season. He only missed a total of four league games between 1995 and 2000.
Sánchez signed in
2000–01 for
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
giants
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
, initially backing-up wonderkid
Iker Casillas. However,
the following season, he eventually became first-choice and started five out of nine
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
matches during the
capital side's
victorious campaign, but was
substituted by Casillas in
the final with
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. ...
after suffering an injury.
Zaragoza and Tottenham
César joined
Real Zaragoza for
2005–06, and was everpresent in the
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
ese side's lineups during three seasons. In August 2008, after their relegation to
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...
, new manager
Marcelino García Toral sent the player to
the reserves.
Shortly after, Sánchez was bought by
Juande Ramos's
Tottenham Hotspur. He made his only appearance for the London club in a 4–2 victory over
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in the
fourth round of the
Football League Cup
The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England.
Orga ...
, replacing the injured
Heurelho Gomes.
Valencia
César returned to Spain on 20 January 2009, joining
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...
on a
free transfer until the end of
the season as the ''Che'' had just lost first-choice
Renan to a groin injury, during a 3–2 loss at
Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...
. Despite this, the former was still named on the bench for a Tottenham game on the 21st, the League Cup semi-final second leg against
Burnley; two days later, Tottenham announced that his contract had been cancelled by mutual consent, and he retained his starting status even when the Brazilian recovered from his injury.
After an impressive half-season, César renewed his contract for another year. He started the
2009–10 campaign on the bench, playing second-fiddle to new signing
Miguel Ángel Moyá; however, after unconvincing displays by the latter, he regained the starting spot, keeping consecutive
clean sheets against
Racing de Santander (1–0), defending champions Barcelona (0–0),
UD Almería (3–0) and
Málaga CF
Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...
(1–0). In May 2010, after helping Valencia to the third place, with the team consequently
returning to the Champions League, the veteran agreed to a further one-year extension.
On 2 April 2011, César became the second oldest goalkeeper in Spanish League history as he appeared – as a starter – in a 4–2 defeat of
Getafe CF
Getafe Club de Fútbol S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. They compete in La Liga, the top tier of the Football in Spain, Spanish football. The team has pla ...
, aged 39 years and 212 days. He contributed 15 appearances, as his team
finished third and
qualified for the Champions League.
Later career
However, after the club acquired
Diego Alves and renewed youth graduate
Vicente Guaita
Vicente Guaita Panadero (; born 10 January 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Celta.
He appeared in 176 La Liga matches over eight seasons with Valencia and Getafe, as well as a season on ...
's contract, César became surplus to requirements. On 2 June 2011, he signed a one-year deal with
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...
neighbours
Villarreal CF
Villarreal Club de Fútbol, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Villarreal, in the Province of Castellón, Castellón province of easte ...
, making his league debut on 10 September in a 2–2 home draw against
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...
: after replacing
sent off Diego López early into the first half, he stopped the ensuing
penalty by
Álvaro Negredo, whom however managed to score with a putback. Subsequently, he became only the fifth player to appear in a Spanish top division match over the age of 40, following
Harry Lowe,
Jacques Songo'o,
Amedeo Carboni and
Donato.
César returned to the
Mestalla Stadium on 20 January 2020, being appointed
sporting director on a two-and-a-half-year contract. However, five months later, he resigned from the post.
International career
César earned his only
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
for
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
on 16 August 2000, in a 4–1
friendly defeat to
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
in
Hannover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
.
Honours
Real Madrid
*
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
:
2000–01
*
Supercopa de España
The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...
:
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
,
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
[
*]UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
: 2001–02[
* Intercontinental Cup: 2002][
*]UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...
: 2002[
]
See also
* List of La Liga players (400+ appearances)
* List of Real Zaragoza players (+100)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Cesar
1971 births
Living people
People from Vegas del Alagón
Spanish men's footballers
Footballers from the Province of Cáceres
Men's association football goalkeepers
La Liga players
Segunda División B players
Real Valladolid Promesas players
Real Valladolid players
Real Madrid CF players
Real Zaragoza players
Valencia CF players
Villarreal CF players
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
UEFA Champions League–winning players
Spain men's international footballers
Spanish expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England
Valencia CF non-playing staff