Manuel Peña Escontrela
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Peña Escontrela | ||
| Date of birth | 18 December 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Lugo, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 13 November 2012 (aged 46) | ||
| Place of death | Ponferrada, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ponferradina | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1982–1983 | Ponferradina | 21 | (9) |
| 1983–1990 | Valladolid | 148 | (24) |
| 1990–1993 | Zaragoza | 41 | (3) |
| 1993–1995 | Cádiz | 28 | (3) |
| 1995–1996 | Talavera | 24 | (1) |
| 1996–2000 | Ponferradina | ||
| National team | |||
| 1983–1984 | Spain U18 | 6 | (0) |
| 1985 | Spain U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 1985 | Spain U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 1985–1987 | Spain U21 | 5 | (1) |
| 1988 | Spain U23 | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Manuel Peña Escontrela (18 December 1965 – 13 November 2012) was a Spanish professional footballer who played as a forward.
Over the course of ten seasons he amassed La Liga totals of 189 games and 27 goals, with Valladolid and Zaragoza.
Club career
Born in Lugo, Galicia, Peña signed at the age of 17 with Real Valladolid, going on to play seven consecutive La Liga seasons with the club, but only appearing in 30 league games his first three combined. His best output for the Castile and León side came in the 1987–88 campaign when he scored eight goals in 29 matches (all starts) to help it finish in eighth position; this included a hat-trick against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou in a 4–2 win,[1] and another in the home game against the Catalans (1–1 draw).[2]
Still at the professional level Peña played with Real Zaragoza (top level)[3] and Cádiz CF (being relegated from Segunda División in 1993–94). He retired in June 2000 after six years in the lower leagues, namely with SD Ponferradina where he started his career.
International career
Peña gained a total of nine caps for three Spanish youth teams. He helped the under-20s finish second at the 1985 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Soviet Union, appearing in the group stage against Brazil (0–2 loss) and the Republic of Ireland (4–2 win).[4]
Honours
- Valladolid
- Copa de la Liga: 1983–84
- Copa del Rey: Runner-up 1988–89
- Spain U20
- FIFA U-20 World Cup: Runner-up 1985
Later life and death
After retiring, Peña settled in Ponferrada and worked in the city council. He died on 13 November 2012 from cancer, at the age of 46.[5][6]
References
- ↑ "Ay Peña, peñita, Peña...!" [Oh Peña, peñita, Peña...!] (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 21 December 1987. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ↑ "Partido con dos caras y arbitraje polémico" [Match with two stories and controversial refereeing] (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 25 April 1988. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ↑ "Fallece el exzaragocista Manolo Peña tras una larga enfermedad" [Former Zaragoza player Manolo Peña dies following long illness] (in Spanish). El Periódico de Aragón. 14 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ↑ "Manuel Peña". FIFA.com. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ↑ "Manolo Peña, muere el artífice del primer "pucelazo" en el Camp Nou" [Manolo Peña, the author of first "pucelazo" at the Camp Nou, dies] (in Spanish). El Diario Montañés. 13 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ↑ "Manolo Peña, delantero que dejó helado al Camp Nou" [Manolo Peña, forward that froze the Camp Nou] (in Spanish). El País. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.