Staff Reporter
Andalusia has had a history of birthing some of the most talented and famous soccer players ever. Let’s look at some of these legends.
Fernando Hierro
Fernando Hierro is one of the area’s best soccer players he has retired from the sport but he was quite a force on the field for 14 years he played soccer. He has appeared in 4 world cups and two European championships. He has won five La Liga and 3 champion trophies. Which means he has been on several championship teams. He has played as a central defender and a sweeper or a defensive midfielder.
Ironically, in his youth he was told he would never be good enough to play soccer. He is listed as one of Spain’s best players ever. He scored 7 goals in 37 games which was his first season. He had two more solid seasons and his coach advanced his position on the field. He was always a dominant force on the soccer field and he has appeared in more than 500 official matches. As we alluded to earlier he is no stranger to playing in high profile championship games. He became a soccer coach in 2016. It is truly funny that he was told he would never be good enough to play soccer but yet he became one of Spain’s greatest players. Talk about misjudging talent.
Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos is the captain of the Real Madrid team and the national team. This is how good of a player he is that he captains two prominent soccer teams in Spain. He used to be a right winger but then he became a central defender. He has appeared in 3 world cups and his team actually won the world cup in 2010. He has also appeared in 3 European championships so he is no stranger to being on winning teams.
At the age of 18, he became the youngest player to appear in 100 international matches. He is also recognized as one of the top scorers in the La Liga championships. He is agile and speedy on the soccer field and his defensive abilities are legendary. He has a penalty conversion rate of 88.9 percent. His teams have won several championships and he is arguably the best defender in the history of the game.
He has been criticized for being overly aggressive on the field but his merits on the field talk for themselves. He has been at the top of the game for about 10 years. The fact that he has been at the top of the game for so long shows his durability and physical strength as a soccer player. He cannot be left out of any conversation that talks about the best soccer players of all time. He is the captain of two of the most famous Spanish soccer teams that have ever taken the field.
He has to be a top tier player to be a captain on two separate soccer teams. He inherited the captaincy but this by no means takes away from the high caliber soccer player he is. He has an innate sense to be where the ball is and he is always at the center of the action. He is fleet-footed and maybe one of the fastest men in soccer.
Jose Antonio Reyes
Reyes was a superstar whose life was cut short at the age of 36. The steering mechanism in his car caused a car crash and he died in the accident on June 1, 2019. Cutting short one of the most brilliant careers the soccer world has ever known. He was a very popular player when he played actively. He earned 21 caps for appearing in international games. He won a La Liga championship with one of his teams and he won a record 5 Europa team championships with various teams. He also appeared in the 2006 World cup but his team did not win the championship.
Diego Tristan
Diego Tristan is a retired soccer player and he was considered one of the best players in Europe when he played. He was known for his speed and agility on the field. He was one of the best playmakers ever to play the game. He was known for his acrobatics, dribbling, and shot accuracy. His shooting accuracy helped him to score 95 goals in 200 matches he played during his illustrious career. He had a hard 6 years at one point in his life but he stilled shined on the field. He had the honor of appearing with the Spanish national team in the world cup in 2002.
In 1999 he scored 19 goals which was an outstanding total. It may have been one of his best seasons. He had his best years in the early 2000’s when he established himself as a superstar in soccer. He was considered to be one of the best strikers in the world. By its name “striker” is a position player that plays a key offensive position in soccer. The striker is supposed to score goals for his team.
He could score goals at all levels and from all angles on the field and he became a commodity at the highest levels. He truly was one of the greatest players of all time.
Rafael Gordillo
Rafael Gordillo was a great defender and was an outstanding attacking left winger a good middle position player making him very versatile in his career. He played in 428 La Liga games scoring 38 goals over 16 seasons. He played on teams that won 10 championships including 5 national championships. He too is considered to be one of the best soccer players of all time.
In the 1980’s he was a mainstay for the national team and he played in 80 matches and he appeared in 5 international matches.
Jesus Navas
Jesus Navas finally made his long awaited move to the Premiere soccer league. He suffered from chronic home sickness his early years in soccer and he left many Spanish teams because of it. It seems that he did overcome the homesickness. He has become one of the greatest players in soccer. He knows his game and he is very aggressive and enthusiastic on the field. You cannot miss him on the field he is constantly in motion and at the center of the action. He knows where the ball will be which has helped him to become one of the top soccer players year after year.
He had his breakthrough season in 2002-2005 and he won a starting position on the permanent team once and for all. His accelerated play began to turn heads in the league. He is one the best Spain has ever put on a soccer field.
Joaquin
Joaquin was born in Puerto Rico but migrated to Spain. He grew up in a big family and she slept, breathed, and ate soccer as a youth growing up. He dreamed of reaching the top of the sport and for all intents and purposes he has fulfilled that dream. He is one of the top players in soccer. The fans—by the millions—love him and perceive him as one of the greatest players in the sport. He has a diehard will to win and his personality is as big off the field as his play is on the field.
He came on the sport scene in 2000, with a bang. He made 38 second tier appearances and scored 3 goals in those brief appearances. He was promoted to the permanent team and he was on his way. He was a superstar in the wings or making if you prefer. He is the captain of his current team.
He has appeared in the top 10 rankings in La Liga—championship games—appearing in 500 appearances and 800 appearances with club and country respectively. He has been at the top for almost 20 years so he has been a very durable player indeed.
Jose Callejon
Callejon is a forward and winger. He made a name for himself at Espanola about 8 years ago. He is currently one of the top players in all of soccer. He started showing his prowess at a very young age. He is a natural on the field and he has great natural abilities. He may be one of the fastest players in the league.
He gives his all every minute of every game this why fans adore him so much. He has been snubbed in the world cup and he is highly underrated by his colleagues in soccer. But he is still one of the best soccer players to ever don a uniform. He is a very modest superstar.
We have briefly discussed 8 of the best soccer players from Andalusia, Spain but one was a transplant Puerto Rico. The players discussed always stood out in the games and they consistently played outstanding games. They all played in championship games in one form or another. One of them died early in an auto accident and cut his soccer career tragically short.
