Miguel Ángel Fuentes

Miguel Ángel Fuentes Azpiroz (born 6 August 1964) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a right back.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Fuentes and the second or maternal family name is Azpiroz.
Miguel Ángel Fuentes
Personal information
Full name Miguel Ángel Fuentes Azpiroz
Date of birth (1964-08-06) 6 August 1964
Place of birth San Sebastián, Spain
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Right back
Youth career
La Salle
1979–1980 Real Sociedad
1980–1981 La Salle
1981–1983 Real Sociedad
1981–1982 → La Salle (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1987 Eibar 41+ (9+)
1987–2001 Real Sociedad 439 (7)
Total 480+ (16+)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He spent his entire professional career with Real Sociedad, appearing in nearly 500 competitive matches, among the highest totals in its history. He later served as the club's president.

Playing career

Club

Born in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Fuentes joined Real Sociedad's youth setup in 1979 from La Salle CD. Released the following year, he returned to Sanse in 1981, finishing his formation in 1983 but being deemed surplus to requirements again shortly after.[1][2]

Fuentes subsequently signed for Tercera División club SD Eibar, achieving promotion to Segunda División B in 1986[3] and being an ever-present figure in the following season as his team nearly achieved another promotion. During that period, he played as a forward or winger.

Fuentes returned to Real Sociedad in the summer of 1987, now being assigned to the main squad in La Liga.[2] He made his professional debut on 30 August by coming on as a substitute in a 0–1 away loss against Real Zaragoza,[4] and made 24 league appearances during the campaign as the side finished runners-up behind Real Madrid, also coming off the bench in the final of the Copa del Rey which ended with a narrow defeat to FC Barcelona.[2] In what was a transitional period for the club as their successful squad of the decade began to break up, they reached the quarter-finals of the 1988–89 UEFA Cup but lost out to VfB Stuttgart in a penalty shootout with the player, again introduced as a substitute, missing a good chance to win the tie;[2] it was around that time that he was converted into a right back by manager John Toshack.[5]

Fuentes established himself as a starter for the Txuri-urdin from 1989–90 onwards. He played his last match on 17 June 2001 at the age of 36, replacing Tayfun Korkut in a 0–1 home defeat to CA Osasuna.[6]

International

Fuentes won one cap for the unofficial Basque Country regional team, in a 1–1 friendly draw to Paraguay on 22 December 1995 held at the San Mamés Stadium.[7]

Post-retirement

Fuentes majored in management. From July 2005[8] to June 2007 he acted as president to Real Sociedad, quitting his post due to personal reasons[9][10] with the team on the verge of relegation, an eventuality which was confirmed a few weeks later.[11] He was replaced in the interim by María de la Peña, the first woman to hold such a position at the club,[12] albeit she stepped aside a matter of months afterwards to be succeeded by Iñaki Badiola.[13][14]

Personal life

Fuentes' younger brother, Juan Luis (one year his junior), was also a footballer. A midfielder, he played professionally for Sestao Sport Club.[15]

Fuentes' nephews, Luca and Marco Sangalli, also represented Real Sociedad professionally.[16][17]

Honours

Eibar

  1. Won regional Group III and promoted in playoffs.

References
  1. "Miguel Fuentes" (in Spanish). Rincón del Forero. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  2. Lorenzo, J. L. (2 September 2009). "El delantero que se hizo carrilero" [The forward who became a wingback]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  3. "Se cumple el 25 aniversario del ascenso en Badajoz" [Celebrating the 25th anniversary of promotion in Badajoz]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). 19 May 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  4. Gil, Ricardo (31 August 1987). "Cabezazo de Lumbreras... ¡y victoria!" [Lumbreras header... and win!]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  5. "S. D. Eibar: 75 años de señorío" [S. D. Eibar: 75 years of lordship] (in Spanish). Cuadernos de Fútbol. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  6. Rodrigálvarez, Eduardo (18 June 2001). "Osasuna se salva sin esfuerzo" [Osasuna save themselves without effort]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  7. "1–1: Paraguay empata ante Euskadi en los últimos minutos" [1–1: Paraguay draw against Euskadi in the last minutes]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 23 December 1995. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  8. "Miguel Fuentes, nuevo presidente de la Real Sociedad" [Miguel Fuentes, new president of Real Sociedad]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 1 July 2005. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  9. "Miguel Fuentes, presidente de la Real Sociedad, presenta su dimisión por sorpresa" [Miguel Fuentes, Real Sociedad president, presents his resignation by surprise]. 20 minutos (in Spanish). 1 June 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  10. "El presidente de la Real Sociedad dimite por sorpresa" [The president of the Real Sociedad resigns by surprise]. El País (in Spanish). 1 June 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  11. "La Real deja atrás 40 años en Primera" [La Real leave behind 40 years in Primera]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 17 June 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  12. "María de la Peña, nueva presidenta tras la dimisión de Miguel Fuentes" [María de la Peña, new president after the resignation of Miguel Fuentes]. Noticias de Guipuzkoa (in Spanish). 2 July 2007. Archived from the original on 12 September 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  13. Goikoetxea, Igor (14 November 2007). "Dimite la presidenta de la Real Sociedad y convoca elecciones para el 3 de enero" [President of Real Sociedad resigns and calls elections for 3 January]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  14. "Badiola, nuevo presidente de la Real Sociedad" [Badiola, new president of Real Sociedad]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 4 January 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  15. Juan Luis: Juan Luis Fuentes Azpiroz at BDFutbol. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  16. "Otro potrillo, Marco Sangalli" [Another colt, Marco Sangalli] (in Spanish). Gipuzkoa Fútbol. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  17. Encinas, Mikel (9 October 2018). "El sobrino ingeniero de Fuentes" [The engineer nephew of Fuentes]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2018.
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