emilio butragueño · Biography

Emilio Butragueño Santos won his first trophy in the 1984 Spanish second division, with Castilla, Real Madrid’s reserve side. Born in Madrid on 22 July 1963, the striker nicknamed «El Buitre» (the Vulture) played for Real Madrid’s first team from 1984 to 1995, won 69 caps for Spain and retired in 1998 at Mexican club Atlético Celaya. He then moved into club administration at Real Madrid, where he became vice-president and director of football.

Youth career at Real Madrid

He did not get into the Real Madrid academy at the first attempt. After an unsuccessful trial he spent two or three days training with Atlético de Madrid, until a second trial in 1980, when he was 17, opened Real Madrid’s doors to him. He made his debut for Castilla on 24 April 1982 in a 2-1 win over Real Oviedo at the Santiago Bernabéu. For the reserve side he scored 40 goals in 82 matches between 1981 and 1984, and he was part of the team that won the second division title in 1983-84.

A debut in Cádiz and the Quinta del Buitre

Alfredo Di Stéfano handed him his first-team debut on 5 February 1984 at the Ramón de Carranza stadium against Cádiz. He came on at half-time with Real Madrid 2-0 down and scored twice, the second goal sealing a 3-2 away win. Promoted alongside him were Manolo Sanchis, Rafael Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza, a group of academy graduates who became known as the Quinta del Buitre, named after his nickname. His first trophies with the senior side came in 1985: the Copa de la Liga and the UEFA Cup, won in a final against Hungary’s Videoton, 3-0 in Székesfehérvár and 0-1 at the Bernabéu.

Five league titles in a row

A second UEFA Cup followed in 1986. Real Madrid beat Köln 5-1 in the first leg and lost the return 2-0, becoming the first club to retain the trophy. That same year began a run of five consecutive La Liga titles, from 1986 to 1990, along with the 1989 Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cups of 1988, 1989 and 1990. In 1990-91 he won the Pichichi Trophy with 19 league goals. Later came the Copa del Rey and Super Cup in 1993, the Copa Iberoamericana in 1994 and a sixth league title in 1995. For Real Madrid he played 341 league matches, scoring 123 goals, and 463 competitive games in all, with 171 goals.

Spain national team

He made his Spain debut on 17 October 1984 in Seville against Wales, a 1986 World Cup qualifier that Spain won 3-0, and he scored. He had already been in the squad for Euro 1984, where Spain finished runners-up, but did not play. At the 1986 World Cup in Mexico he scored five goals: one against Northern Ireland on 7 June and four against Denmark on 18 June in Querétaro, in a round-of-16 match that Spain won 5-1. Those five goals earned him the Silver Boot at a tournament in which Spain went out in the quarter-finals. He also scored at Euro 1988 and played at the 1990 World Cup in Italy without finding the net. He finished his international career with 69 caps and 26 goals.

Ballon d’Or bronze

His 1986 had an impact beyond Spain. He finished third in that year’s Ballon d’Or vote and third again in 1987, receiving the bronze Ballon d’Or both times. The two podium finishes came during the first years of Real Madrid’s run of five league titles and his best years with the national team.

Mexican spell

In June 1995 he left Real Madrid and joined Atlético Celaya in the Mexican league. In his first season, 1995-96, the team reached the first league final in its history, against Necaxa, and lost it on away goals. He spent three seasons in Celaya, with 91 league appearances and 29 goals. He played his last match on 5 April 1998.

Real Madrid executive

After retiring he worked as an adviser to Spain’s Consejo Superior de Deportes, the national sports council, from 1999 to 2000. In 2000 he returned to Real Madrid as deputy director of football, and on 19 October 2004 he replaced Jorge Valdano as director of football, a role he combined with the post of sporting vice-president. He later took charge of the club’s institutional relations, after stepping down in 2006 from the vice-presidency and the director of football role.