Roberto Solozábal
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roberto Solozábal Villanueva | ||
| Date of birth | 15 September 1969 | ||
| Place of birth | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Atlético Madrid | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1987–1989 | Atlético Madrileño | ||
| 1989–1997 | Atlético Madrid | 231 | (3) |
| 1997–2000 | Betis | 42 | (0) |
| Total | 273 | (3) | |
| National team | |||
| 1987–1988 | Spain U18 | 8 | (0) |
| 1988–1989 | Spain U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 1989–1990 | Spain U20 | 5 | (0) |
| 1989–1991 | Spain U21 | 4 | (0) |
| 1991–1992 | Spain U23 | 12 | (1) |
| 1991–1993 | Spain | 12 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  Spain
| ||
| Men's Football | ||
| Gold | 1992 Barcelona | Team Competition |
Roberto Solozábal Villanueva (born 15 September 1969) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender.
He appeared in 273 La Liga games during 11 seasons, representing in the competition Atlético Madrid and Betis.
Club career
A product of local Atlético Madrid's youth system, Madrid-born Solozábal represented the first team from 1989 to 1997, his debut being on 2 September in a 3–1 away win against Valencia CF (90 minutes played). Other than his first season – ten appearances – he never played in less than 18 La Liga games during his eight-year spell.
During the 1995–96 campaign Solózabal formed a solid centre-back partnership with another Colchonero youth graduate, Juan Manuel López, as the capital side achieved an historic double, with the former featuring in 40 league matches.
After leaving Atlético, Solozábal represented fellow top-divisioner Real Betis.[1] In his last season, where the Andalusian club was relegated and he was ousted from the squad for allegedly organizing a riot, he ultimately took it to court for lack of payment in a suit which lasted several years, with the player having already retired.[2][3]
International career
Solozábal was part of the Spanish side that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and also received 12 full caps in two years, the first coming on 17 April 1991 in a 0–2 friendly loss to Romania, in Cáceres.[4]
Honours
Club
- Atlético Madrid
Country
References
- ↑ Solozábal ya es futbolista del Betis (Solozábal is already a Betis footballer); El País, 23 July 1997 (Spanish)
- ↑ El Betis despide a Solozábal un mes después del motín del equipo (Betis fires Solozábal one month after team riot); El País, 8 September 2000 (Spanish)
- ↑ Un juez da la razón al Betis ante Solozábal (Judge rules in favour of Betis against Solozábal); El País, 22 February 2001 (Spanish)
- ↑ De nuevo vencidos y sin Gloria (Again beaten hopelessly); El Mundo Deportivo, 18 April 1991 (Spanish)
External links
- BDFutbol profile
- National team data
- Betisweb stats and bio (Spanish)
- Roberto Solozábal at National-Football-Teams.com
- Roberto Solozábal – FIFA competition record
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