Samuel Máñez (December 13, 1972 - December 26, 2002), was a Mexican

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 ...

, known as ''San Máñez'' (''Saint Máñez''), in reference to his death, he was considered a saint to many fans.

Career

Born in

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

, Máñez began playing semi-professional football at the age of 18 with ''Barracudas de Acapulco'' in the third Division he went on a try out to

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but returned to Acapulco to play with ''Delfines de Acapulco''. in 1995 Acapulco played a match vs first division team Atlante and from there Atlante's Manager

Ricardo La Volpe Ricardo Antonio La Volpe Guarchoni (; born 6 February 1952) is an Argentine former professional footballer and manager. He is a World Cup-winning goalkeeper who played for most of his career in Argentina and Mexico. As a coach, La Volpe was i ...

saw potential in him and took young Mañez to the team. his debut in the First Division was September 24, 1995 vs

Toros Neza Neza Fútbol Club is a Mexican football club based in the city of Nezahualcóyotl, State of Mexico, that plays in the Liga de Balompié Mexicano. Founded in 1991 as Toros UTN, then the club was moved to Pachuca, Hidalgo and played the 1993–94 ...

, game in which they lost 0–3. At the end of the season, Mañez was sent to

Pumas UNAM Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., simply known as Pumas UNAM, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1954 as Club Deportivo Universidad, and they play ...

, but nothing was established and he had to return to Acapulco. He did not find a team and Samuel Mañez took the decision of going to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for a better life and to forget about soccer, but he soon returned and he returned to play soccer with Real Sociedad de Zacatecas of the Primera División A, He made it to the Final in his first year back but lost. Mañez was brought to

Irapuato Irapuato is a Mexican city and municipalities of Mexico, municipality located at the foot of the Arandas Hill (in Spanish Language, Spanish: ''Cerro de Arandas''), in the central region of the Mexican state, state of Guanajuato. It lies between the ...

and played for

Irapuato FC Club Deportivo Irapuato is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Irapuato, Guanajuato, that currently competes in Liga Premier de México, Liga Premier, the third level division of Mexican football league system, Me ...

. He was a vital role in Irapuato's promotion in 2000. He was considered to be one of Irapuato's best players.

Honours

;Real Zacatecas *

Primera División A Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Ely Rafael Primera Ros ...

: runner-up Invierno 1997 ;Irapuato *

: Verano 2000

Death

Máñez died in a car accident on the México-Veracruz highway on 26 December 2002, after returning to his club from the Christmas holiday season. A girl was also killed in the accident, which left Máñez' wife and two children injured.

References

External links

El UniversalCronica,com.mx
1972 births 2002 deaths Mexican men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Atlante F.C. footballers Real Sociedad de Zacatecas footballers C.D. Irapuato footballers C.D. Veracruz footballers Liga MX players Road incident deaths in Mexico Footballers from Guerrero {{Mexico-footy-goalkeeper-stub