Manuel Mesa

Manuel 'Manolo' Mesa Quirós (born 26 December 1952) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a right winger.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mesa and the second or maternal family name is Quirós.
Manuel Mesa
Personal information
Full name Manuel Mesa Quirós
Date of birth (1952-12-26) 26 December 1952
Place of birth San Roque, Spain
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1971–1975 Linense
1975–1987 Sporting Gijón 339 (36)
1987 Murcia 0 (0)
1987–1988 Linense 32 (2)
1988–1991 Xerez 93 (4)
1991–1992 Linense 18 (1)
Total 482 (43)
National team
1979–1980 Spain 2 (1)
Teams managed
2004–2009 San Roque
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

His professional career was intimately connected with Sporting de Gijón, with which he spent 12 years, amassing La Liga totals of 311 games and 34 goals over 11 seasons and appearing in nearly 400 competitive matches.

Club career

Born in San Roque, Cádiz, Andalusia, Mesa started playing football at local club Real Balompédica Linense. In 1975, after having been discovered by renowned scout Enrique Casas,[1] he was bought by Sporting de Gijón in La Liga, making his first-team debut on 28 December of that year in a 0–1 loss at UD Salamanca and adding a further ten appearances during that season, which ended in relegation.

From 1978 onwards, with the Asturias side back in the top division, Mesa played an essential part in their domestic consolidation, helping to a runner-up place in the 1978–79 campaign, back-to-back Copa del Rey finals in the early 80s – both lost – and four UEFA Cup participations; due to his incredible stamina, he earned the nickname Siete Pulmones (Seven Lungs).[1]

Mesa played 43 matches in 1986–87, scoring seven goals (both career-highs) to help Sporting finish in fourth position. Even though the player, aged nearly 35, was still in good physical conditions, his contract was not renewed and he moved to Real Murcia also of the top level, but left the team after a couple of weeks, unsettled.

Mesa then moved closer to his hometown and signed for Xerez CD in division two, producing three respectable seasons but being relegated in his last. Six months shy of his 40th birthday, he retired after one year with his very first club, Balompédica Linense, La Balona.

Subsequently, having settled in his hometown, Mesa coached amateurs CD San Roque de Lepe for a few years, also working with the city hall in the sports department.[1]

International career

Mesa played twice for Spain, making his debut on 14 November 1979 and scoring in a 1–3 friendly loss to Denmark, in Cádiz.[2] In the early minutes of his second appearance, another exhibition match against Czechoslovakia on 16 April 1980, he suffered a serious injury – having to be replaced by Sporting Gijón teammate Quini – and was never recalled again.[3]

References
  1. "Manolo Mesa: el vecino más ilustre de San Roque" [Manolo Mesa: San Roque's most illustrious inhabitant] (in Spanish). Yo Jugué en el Sporting. 13 March 2008. Archived from the original on 9 September 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  2. Calvo, Juan Antonio (15 November 1979). "1–3: La selección, ridiculizada por Dinamarca" [1–3: The national team, ridiculed by Denmark]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  3. Calvo, Juan Antonio (17 April 1980). "2–2: La selección mejoró sin convencer" [2–2: The national team improved without convincing]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 March 2018.
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