Place of birth Madrid, Spain Name Miguel Sanchez Playing position Role Footballer | Years Team Height 1.74 m 1992–1996 Rayo Vallecano B Position Midfielder | |
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Full name Miguel Angel Sanchez Munoz Date of birth (1975-10-30) 30 October 1975 (age 40) | ||
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Miguel Ángel Sánchez Muñoz (born 30 October 1975), known as Míchel, is a Spanish former footballer who played as a left midfielder, and the current manager of Rayo Vallecano.
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During his 20-year senior career, he amassed La Liga totals of 182 games and 25 goals, adding 169/18 in Segunda División and playing mostly with Rayo Vallecano (17 seasons, three spells).
Club career
Míchel was born in Madrid. A product of Rayo Vallecano's youth system, he appeared once for the first team in the 1993–94 season, then alternated between the first and second sides two more years.
After one loan to UD Almería in the third division, Míchel returned to Rayo, being essential as the capital outskirts side finished ninth in the 1999–2000 campaign and qualified for the subsequent UEFA Cup through fair play, where Rayo bowed out in the quarter-finals to fellow La Liga club Deportivo Alavés. The following season he scored a career-best ten goals in 33 games (all starts), as his team ranked 14th.
Míchel moved in 2003 to Real Murcia, being relatively used in his first year, which ended in top flight relegation. He appeared very rarely, however, in his final two seasons, which included a six-month loan spell with Málaga CF in 2004–05, where he was also rarely used.
In July 2006, Míchel returned home and to Rayo, helping it return to the second level in the 2007–08 season. He continued to be team captain and, during the 2010–11 campaign, still contributed with two goals in 20 matches as they returned to the top tier after eight years.
On 9 July 2012, after having appeared in only nine games as Rayo retained its league status – just 246 minutes of action – 36-year-old Míchel retired from football, being immediately appointed manager of his main club's youth ranks.