Santiago Denia
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Santiago Denia Sánchez | ||
| Date of birth | 9 March 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Albacete, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Spain U17 (coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Albacete | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1995 | Albacete | 98 | (2) |
| 1995–2004 | Atlético Madrid | 225 | (7) |
| 2005–2007 | Albacete | 38 | (1) |
| Total | 361 | (10) | |
| National team | |||
| 1991 | Spain U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 1992–1996 | Spain U21 | 27 | (0) |
| 1996 | Spain U23 | 3 | (1) |
| 1997–1998 | Spain | 2 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2009 | Atlético Madrid (assistant) | ||
| 2009 | Atlético Madrid | ||
| 2010– | Spain U16 | ||
| 2011– | Spain U17 | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Santiago Denia Sánchez (born 9 March 1974), commonly known as Santi, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender, and a current coach.
He appeared in 297 La Liga games over the course of 11 seasons (two goals scored), with Albacete Balompié and Atlético Madrid. He won the 1996 league championship with the latter.
Club career
Born in Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, Santi began playing professionally with hometown's Albacete Balompié. He made his La Liga debuts at age 18, and automatically became an undisputed starter in a side that constantly managed to maintain their top flight status.
In the 1995 summer, Santi signed with Atlético Madrid, being crowned league and Copa del Rey champion in his first season, in a defensive line which also included club youth graduates Juan Manuel López and Roberto Solozábal. He appeared in 37 league matches during the campaign.[1]
Following Atlético's 2000 relegation (he collected a career-worst 17 yellow cards), Santi gradually lost his importance in the team's plans. In 2004–05, after the signing of Pablo Ibáñez – who also came from Albacete – he featured in no games at all during the first half of the season, and was subsequently allowed to leave on loan in January 2005 for his first club.[2] The move was made permanent in June and he retired after two more years, with Albacete now in the second division.[3]
Santi eventually returned to Atlético Madrid in early February 2009, as assistant to newly appointed Abel Resino[4] who had replaced Javier Aguirre. He was a caretaker manager for the game against RCD Mallorca on 24 October, before the appointment of Quique Sánchez Flores.[5]
International career
Santi was capped twice for Spain, his debut coming on 11 October 1997 in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Faroe Islands (3–1 in Gijón, playing the entire match).[6] He still featured in a friendly win over Sweden in March 1998, but did not make the final cut for the final stages in France.
Previously, Santi appeared for the nation at the 1996 Summer Olympics.[7]
Honours
- Atlético Madrid
- Spain U21
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship: Runner-up 1996[8]
References
- ↑ Una pareja de centrales crecida (Growing stopper duo); El País, 30 November 2012 (Spanish)
- ↑ Atlético farewell to Santi; UEFA.com, 13 January 2005
- ↑ Hasta siempre capitán (Farewell captain); La Verdad, 17 June 2007 (Spanish)
- ↑ Santi será el segundo de Abel y Peiró el preparador físico (Santi will be Abel's assistant and Peiró the physio); Mundo Deportivo, 4 February 2009 (Spanish)
- ↑ El 'sueño' de Santi Denia (Santi Denia's 'dream'); El Mundo, 23 October 2009 (Spanish)
- ↑ Luis Enrique ¡aclamado! (Luis Enrique cheered!); Mundo Deportivo, 12 October 1997 (Spanish)
- ↑ Santi – FIFA competition record
- ↑ Italia ya ganó un Europeo a España en el 1996 (Italy has already won European Championships against Spain in 1996); Orgullo Bianconero, 18 June 2013 (Spanish)
External links
- Santi profile at BDFutbol
- Santi manager profile at BDFutbol
- National team data
- Santi at National-Football-Teams.com
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