Place of birth Madrid, Spain Playing position Position Midfielder | Place of death Fuengirola, Spain Height 1.75 m | |
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Full name Manuel Velázquez Villaverde Date of birth (1943-01-24)24 January 1943 Date of death 15 January 2016(2016-01-15) (aged 72) Died 15 January 2016, Fuengirola, Spain | ||
Manuel Velázquez Villaverde (24 January 1943 – 15 January 2016) was a Spanish footballer who played as a central midfielder.
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Club career
Born in Madrid, Velázquez spent all of his 12 years in La Liga with Real Madrid. After three seasons on loan, to Rayo Vallecano and CD Málaga, helping the latter promote from Segunda División in 1965, he went on to appear in 402 competitive games for his main club whilst scoring 59 goals, winning six national championships, three Copa del Rey trophies and the 1965–66 edition of the European Cup, where he was featured in the final against FK Partizan.
In the 1967–68 campaign, Velázquez netted a career-best ten goals from 28 appearances – including a hat-trick in a 9–1 home routing of Real Sociedad– conquering the second of his domestic leagues. He ended his career at the age of 35, after six months in the North American Soccer League with Toronto Metros-Croatia.
International career
Velázquez gained ten caps for the Spanish national team, during eight years. He made his debut on 1 February 1967, in a 0–0 away draw in Turkey for the UEFA Euro 1968 qualifiers.
Death
Velázquez died on 15 January 2016 in Fuengirola, Andalusia. He was 72 years old.
