José Ignacio Pérez Frías (27 April 1955 – 30 March 2018), known as Nacho, 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. He spent his entire professional career with

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

, playing 223 competitive matches while appearing in four

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.

Early life

Born in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

to hotel employee Pedro Pérez and his wife Isabel Frías, Nacho and his ten siblings (eventually the couple fathered 12 children) moved with the family to

at the age of 14. He started playing football with Puerto Malagueño and

Real Madrid Castilla Real Madrid Castilla Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team that plays in . It is Real Madrid's reserve team. They play their home games at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium with a capacity of 6,000 seats. Reserve teams in Spain play in the ...

, but suffered an injury while at the service of the latter club and was released shortly after signing.

Club career

Nacho subsequently joined

Atlético Malagueño Club Atlético Malagueño, shortened to Atlético Malagueño, () is a Spanish football team based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1990, it is the reserve team of Málaga CF, and currently plays in , holding home ...

, whilst studying for his

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

. He made his debut with the first team of

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 ...

on 10 November 1976, coming on as a late substitute in a 3–0 home win against

Linares CF Linares Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football club based in Linares, Jaén, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1961 it disappeared 29 years later due to serious economic problems, and held home matches at ''Estadio de Linarejos ...

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 ...

. His maiden appearance in

came the following 6 March, also coming from the bench in a 3–1 away loss to

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

, and he scored his first in the competition on 26 March of the same year but in another away defeat (2–1, at

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was fou ...

). In 1979, Nacho was appointed

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

. He won two promotions to the top division with his main club, in that year and also in

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 Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

. Nacho retired in 1991 at the age of 36, after spells in the lower leagues with

Real Avilés Industrial CF Real Avilés Industrial Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Avilés, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded in 1903 it plays in , holding home matches at Estadio Román Suárez Puerta, with an approximate capacity of 5, ...

CA Marbella Club Atlético Marbella were a Spanish football team based in Marbella, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1947 and dissolved in 1997, it served as the reserve team of CD Málaga in the past. History Atlético Marbella had its ...

and CD Mijas. Later, he worked with Málaga as a youth coach and doctor.

International career

Nacho won three

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 ...

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 ...

at under-18 level.

Personal life and death

Nacho's brother and son, respectively

Juan Carlos Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until his abdication on 19 June 2014. In Sp ...

and

Ignacio Ignacio is a male Spanish language, Spanish name originating in the Latin name "Ignatius" from ''ignis'' "fire". This was the name of several saints, including the Ignatius of Antioch, third bishop of Antioch (who was thrown to wild beasts by emp ...

, were also footballers. They too played for Málaga. Nacho died on 30 March 2018, at the age of 62. He was recovering in his Málaga home from severe burns, from which he was tended at the Hospital Regional Universitario Carlos Haya.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nacho 1955 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Madrid Men's association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Real Madrid Castilla footballers Atlético Malagueño players CD Málaga footballers Real Avilés Industrial CF footballers CA Marbella footballers Spain men's youth international footballers Spanish sports physicians Málaga CF non-playing staff