José Luis Caminero

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Personal information
Caminero

Full name	José Luis Pérez Caminero
Date of birth	November 8, 1967 (1967-11-08) (age 40)
Place of birth	Madrid, Spain
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1+¹⁄₂ in)
Playing position	Central midfielder Right/Left-sided midfielder Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Retired
Youth clubs
1986-89	Castilla CF
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1989-1993 1993-1998 1998-2004	Real Valladolid Atlético Madrid Real Valladolid
National team²
1993-1996	Spain	21 (8)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of July 10, 2006. ² National team caps and goals correct as of December 03, 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

José Luis Pérez Caminero (born November 8, 1967 in Madrid) is a former Spanish football midfielder.

Some consider Caminero the best Spanish footballer of the 1990s. The peak of his career took place in the mid-1990s when he played for the Spanish first division side Atlético Madrid. In total he played 149 matches for Atlético, in which he scored 49 goals. He was also a key member of the Atlético squad that won the famous "double" in 1995/96. Accordingly, after the "double season", he was given the Spanish Footballer of the Year award by both the Madrid newspaper El País and the prestigious football magazine Don Balón. He remains to be the only Atlético player ever who has won both awards during one season.

After the glory days of Atlético, Caminero joined Real Valladolid, where he also ended his active playing career in 2004. Even during his final years as a player he showed great versatility when changing his position from an attacking midfielder to a central defender. After his retirement as a player he was installed as the sports director of Real Valladolid.

Caminero made his national team debut in 1993 against Chile. Later he represented Spain at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the U.S., where he was the leading Spanish scorer, and also in Euro 96 in England. Overall, he scored eight goals for Spain in 21 caps.

Caminero's football genius has also made it to the silver screen. The Spanish movie director Pedro Almodóvar included his magical dribbling against Barcelona defender Nadal in his 1997 film Live Flesh (Carne trémula).

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

Atlético Madrid
- La Liga: 1995-1996
- Copa del Rey: 1996

v • d • e Spain squad - 1994 FIFA World Cup

1 Zubizarreta • 2 Ferrer • 3 Otero • 4 Camarasa • 5 Abelardo • 6 Hierro • 7 Goikoetxea • 8 Guerrero • 9 Guardiola • 10 Bakero • 11 Begiristain • 12 Sergi • 13 Cañizares • 14 Juanele • 15 Caminero • 16 Miñambres • 17 Voro • 18 Alkorta • 19 Salinas • 20 Nadal • 21 Luis Enrique • 22 Lopetegui • Coach: Clemente

v • d • e Spain squad - UEFA Euro 1996

1 Zubizarreta • 2 J. M. López • 3 Belsúe • 4 Alkorta • 5 Abelardo • 6 Hierro • 7 Amavisca • 8 Guerrero • 9 Pizzi • 10 Donato • 11 Alfonso • 12 Sergi • 13 Cañizares • 14 Kiko • 15 Caminero • 16 Otero • 17 Manjarín • 18 Amor • 19 Salinas • 20 Nadal • 21 Luis Enrique • 22 Molina • Coach: Clemente