His crossing ability was among the qualities that brought him international recognition with Spain, and especially Deportivo. He started his career with Real Madrid and went on to win a total of seven major titles between the two clubs; over 11 seasons in La Liga, where he also represented Racing de Santander, he amassed totals of 310 matches and 49 goals.
After five years as an assistant, Sánchez began working as a manager in 2015.
Club career
Real Madrid
Sánchez was born in Madrid. Being a product of the famous Real Madrid youth system, he made his first-team debut on 25 May 1996 in the season's last matchday, a 1–0 away win against Real Zaragoza.[2]
Almost never a starter during his spell in the capital, Sánchez did appear in 36 La Liga games in 1996–97 (25 starts, five goals) as the Fabio Capello-led side won the national championship. He also played a supporting role in Madrid's conquest of the following campaign's UEFA Champions League.[3]
Deportivo
For 1998–99, Sánchez had to leave his hometown club as he faced stiff competition, and his first stop was Racing de Santander where he scored 12 top-division goals[4][5] to earn a move to Deportivo de La Coruña. In the 1999–2000 season, he missed just one league match as they won the league – their first – netting four times.[6]
Sánchez enjoyed his best return in front of goal in 2003–04, scoring seven from 31 appearances, including a hat-trick on 3 January 2004 against neighbours Celta de Vigo (5–0 victory),[9][10] as Deportivo finished third behind Valencia and Barcelona; he failed to find the net, though, in a Champions League campaign which concluded with a semi-final loss to Porto.[11] In his last year, they would finish eighth in the league and the player was not offered a new contract, a decision helped by the fact he had recently been injured.[12]
Later years
On 3 August 2006, Sánchez signed a two-year contract with Super League Greece giants Panathinaikos[13] for about €1.5 million per year. He appeared sparingly throughout a sole season and, in October 2007, returned to Spain, penning a one-year deal with Segunda División club Elche; he had spent the previous weeks training on his own.[14]
At the end of the campaign, Sánchez renewed his link for a further year,[15] only to back down immediately on his original decision, leaving in July 2008. He retired at the age of 32 due to several injury problems, with nearly 500 competitive matches to his credit.[16]
On 22 December 2010, Sánchez was named Getafe's assistant manager, replacing former Real Madrid teammate Juan Esnáider as sidekick of Míchel – another player with whom he shared teams at the club. On 9 April 2015 he returned to Deportivo, taking over from the sacked Víctor Fernández.[19]
On 12 November 2016, Sánchez replaced the fired Gus Poyet at Real Betis.[23] The following 9 May, he was himself shown the door.[24]
On 15 April 2019, after almost two years without a club, Sánchez took the place of the dismissed Juan Muñiz at Málaga.[25] In early January 2020, with the side still in the second tier, the board of directors decided to suspend him indefinitely after a sex video featuring him leaked to the internet;[26] shortly after, he was fired.[27]
On 6 June 2023, having been unemployed for three years, Sánchez was named manager of second-division Cartagena.[28] He was sacked three months later, after winning one of his seven matches in charge.[29][30]
Sánchez went abroad again in June 2024, being appointed by Slovenian PrvaLiga side Olimpija Ljubljana on a one-year contract with the possibility of a one-year extension.[31][32]
^Carbajosa, Carlos (23 October 1997). "El Real, con paso firme y goleando" [Real, steady and scoring aplenty]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 June 2014.
