José Luis Navarro del Valle (27 May 1936 – 13 January 2020) 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 lea ...

who played as a defender for Córdoba in the 1950s and 1960s. He spent all 16 seasons of his playing career with Córdoba, thus being part of the so-called one-club men group, and also a historical member of the club, who still holds the records for both the most seasons and the most matches played in the club's history with over 300.

Playing career

Born in

Aranjuez Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid. Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of the Tagus, a bit upstream of the discharge of the Jarama. , the munici ...

on 27 May 1936, Navarro began playing football for a hometown club, remaining there until he was signed by the

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

club Córdoba in 1954, aged 18. Two years later, in 1956, he was one of the architects of the club's promotion, making his

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 ...

debut on 9 September of that year, already as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, despite still being only 20. He was a technical player who demonstrated "complete dedication to his colours". A few years later, Navarro played a crucial role in the Córdoba team that won the

1961–62 Segunda División The 1961–62 Segunda División season was the 31st since its establishment and was played between 3 September 1961 and 1 April 1962. Overview before the season 32 teams joined the league, including two relegated from the 1960–61 La Liga and ...

, thus achieving promotion to the Spanish top flight, where it stayed for seven years, until its relegation in 1969; he then retired in the following year, in 1970, at the age of 34. In total, he scored 12 goals in 319 official matches for Córdoba throughout his 16 seasons at the club, both of which still are club records, including 113 in La Liga, 138 in the Second, 19 in the Third, plus 13 in promotion matches, and 29 in the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

Later life

After his career as a player ended, Navarro remained linked to Córdoba, being a common presence in the box at

Arcángel Austin Agustín Santos (born December 23, 1985), better known by his stage name Arcángel, is an American rapper and singer. He is often described as one of the most influential artists in the Latin urban genre, as well in Latin music overall, ...

, as well as at events of the club. He also presided over the Association of Veteran Footballers for over a decade. For a long time, he was the owner of the

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...

used in the kick-off of the club's La Liga debut against

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...

in 1962, which he ended up giving to the museum a few years before he died.

Death

Navarro died at the Reina Sofía Hospital in Córdoba on the morning of 13 January 2020, at the age of 83, after failing to survive complications from a surgery to a liver tumor.

Honours

;Córdoba *

: **Champions (1): 1961–62

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Navarro, José Luis 1936 births 2020 deaths Footballers from Madrid Spanish men's footballers Men's association football defenders Córdoba CF players La Liga players Segunda División players Tercera División players 20th-century Spanish sportsmen