Abel Resino · Biography

Between November 1990 and March 1991, Abel Resino went fourteen league matchdays without conceding a goal for Atlético Madrid. The run began after Claudio scored against him at Mallorca and ended at the Vicente Calderón, where Luis Enrique, then a Sporting de Gijón player, finally beat him. It lasted 1,275 minutes without conceding, the record for the Spanish top flight. Abel Resino Gómez was born on 2 February 1960 in Velada, in the province of Toledo. He was a goalkeeper and spent nine seasons in Atlético’s first team. After retiring he coached in the Spanish first and second divisions between 2005 and 2015.

Early years: Toledo and Ciempozuelos

He came through the youth ranks at CD Toledo and was part of their senior squad in 1979-80. From Toledo he moved to CD Ciempozuelos, where he played from 1980 to 1982. In 1982 Atlético Madrid signed him for their reserve side, Atlético Madrileño. He spent four seasons there, until 1986, and played 42 league games while he waited for a chance in the first team. His reflexes in goal earned him the nickname “El Gato”, the Cat.

Nine seasons at Atlético Madrid

He joined the first team in 1986. His top-flight debut came on 12 April 1987, in a 2-1 away win over Real Murcia. He stayed in the squad until 1995 and made 243 league appearances for Atlético, or 303 across all official competitions. He won two trophies with the club, the 1991 Copa del Rey and the 1992 Copa del Rey, in consecutive seasons.

The 1990-91 season

His best season was 1990-91. Besides the 1,275-minute run, which was also the European single-season record until Edwin van der Sar beat it with Manchester United in 2009, he won the Zamora Trophy for the league’s best goalkeeper. He conceded 17 goals in 33 games, an average of 0.51 a match. Atlético finished second in the league and ended the season with the Copa del Rey.

Spain caps and retirement at Rayo

That form earned him a call-up to the Spain national team. Luis Suárez gave him his debut on 27 March 1991 in Santander, in a 4-2 friendly defeat to Hungary. His second and final cap came on 17 April 1991 in Cáceres, another friendly, which Spain lost 2-0 to Romania. In 1995 he left Atlético for Rayo Vallecano. He played 21 league games in 1995-96 and retired with 264 top-flight appearances over ten seasons.

Coaching: from Murcia to the Calderón

His first job as a coach was at Ciudad de Murcia in 2005-06. The team finished fourth in the second division and just missed out on promotion. In January 2007 he replaced Juan Ramón López Caro at Levante and kept them in the top flight. He was sacked in October 2007 after losing six of the first seven league games. In the summer of 2008 he took over Castellón, in the second division. On 3 February 2009 he left to return to Atlético Madrid as Javier Aguirre’s replacement. The team finished fourth in La Liga in 2008-09 and qualified for the Champions League. He was dismissed on 23 October 2009, after winning only one of the first seven league games and losing 4-0 at Chelsea.

Valladolid, Granada and Celta

In December 2010 he took charge of Real Valladolid, then in the second division, replacing Antonio Gómez. He began with a 5-4 home defeat to Numancia. He led the side into the promotion play-offs, where they fell short, and left in June 2011. In January 2012 he replaced Fabri González at Granada, who were in the relegation zone. They stayed up on the final day, at Vallecas, and finished seventeenth. On 18 February 2013 he succeeded Paco Herrera at Celta Vigo. With two games left, Celta were bottom and four points from safety. They won at Valladolid, then beat Espanyol 1-0 at Balaídos on the final day with a goal from Natxo Insa, and finished seventeenth on 37 points. On 19 January 2015 he returned to Granada in place of Joaquín Caparrós. He was dismissed on 1 May 2015, with the team nineteenth and four points from safety. Between 2005 and 2015 he coached 205 matches across eight spells, with 79 wins, 51 draws and 75 defeats.