Quini · Biography

In June 1980 FC Barcelona paid Real Sporting de Gijón 82 million pesetas for Enrique Castro González, known as «Quini», the striker who had spent twelve seasons scoring goals at El Molinón. Born in Oviedo on 23 September 1949, he arrived at the Camp Nou with three Pichichi trophies as top scorer of the Spanish top flight and two in the second division, and he added two more in Barcelona. He died in Gijón on 27 February 2018.

Early years in Avilés

Quini came through the youth ranks of Bosco Ensidesa, and in the 1967-68 season he played for CD Ensidesa in the Spanish third tier, scoring 17 goals in 22 league games. Sporting signed him on 9 November 1968 and handed him his debut on 22 December that year in Seville, against Real Betis. His brother Jesús Castro, a goalkeeper, also played for the club for seventeen years.

Twelve seasons at Sporting

In 1969-70 he was the top scorer in the Spanish second division and Sporting won promotion after ten years outside the top flight. In La Liga he won the Pichichi in 1973-74 and again in 1975-76, a season that nevertheless ended in relegation. The reply was swift: in 1976-77 he again led the second division in goals and Sporting went straight back up. In 1976 Barcelona had already tried to sign him with offers of 40 and 50 million pesetas, both unsuccessful. In 1978-79 he scored 23 league goals and received the Don Balón Award for the best Spanish player, and in 1979-80 he claimed his third top-flight Pichichi. Between 1968 and 1980 he played 380 league games for Sporting and scored 214 goals.

Barcelona and the 1981 kidnapping

At Barcelona he finished as La Liga's top scorer in 1980-81 and 1981-82. On 1 March 1981, after a match against Hércules that Barcelona won 6-0, he was kidnapped. He was held for 25 days until police freed him on 25 March from a hideout in a mechanic's workshop on Jerónimo Vicens street in Zaragoza. On 18 June 1981 he scored twice in the Copa del Rey final, which Barcelona won 3-1 against his former club Sporting at the Vicente Calderón. On 12 May 1982 he scored the winner in the European Cup Winners' Cup final against Standard Liège (2-1) at the Camp Nou. With Barcelona he also won the Copa del Rey, the Copa de la Liga and the Spanish Super Cup in 1983. In four seasons he played 100 league games and scored 53 goals.

Spain national team

He made his debut for the Spain national team on 28 October 1970 at La Romareda, against Greece, and scored one of the goals in a 2-1 win. He played at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, at Euro 1980 in Italy, where he scored his only goal at a major tournament, and at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. His last international match came on 2 July 1982 in Madrid, against West Germany. He finished with 35 caps and 8 goals.

Return to Gijón and retirement

In 1984 he decided to retire and Barcelona gave him a testimonial match, but a month later he returned to Sporting, where he played three more seasons: 61 league games and 17 goals. His final match was on 14 June 1987, against Barcelona. In the Spanish top flight he totalled 448 games and 219 goals. After hanging up his boots he worked for the club as assistant coach, team delegate and institutional representative. In 1993 his brother Jesús drowned at Amió beach in Pechón, Cantabria. After Quini died of a heart attack in 2018, Gijón city council renamed the stadium El Molinón-Enrique Castro Quini.