Fernando Hierro

Fernando Hierro

Personal information
Full name	Fernando Ruiz Hierro
Date of birth	March 23, 1968 (1968-03-23)
Place of birth	Vélez-Málaga, Spain
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Centre back / Defensive midfielder
Youth career
1980–1984	Vélez-Málaga
1984	Málaga
1985–1987	Vélez-Málaga
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1987–1989	Valladolid	58	(3)
1989–2003	Real Madrid	439	(102)
2003–2004	Al Rayyan	19	(3)
2004–2005	Bolton Wanderers	29	(1)
Total		545	(109)
National team
1989–1990	Spain U21	5	(2)
1989–2002	Spain	89	(29)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Ruiz and the second or maternal family name is Hierro.

Fernando Ruiz Hierro (Spanish pronunciation: [ferˈnando ˈʝero]; born 23 March 1968) is a retired Spanish footballer. He is mostly known for his spells with Real Madrid and Spain, appearing in more than 500 official games with the former and representing the latter on nearly 100 occasions, whilst appearing in four World Cups and two European Championships.

Equally at ease as a central defender or defensive midfielder, he had the ability, at his peak, to combine solid defensive play with a near-unlimited passing range and surprising goalscoring talent, which made him one of the world's most sought-after players. For the Merengues, he won five La Liga and three UEFA Champions League trophies, over the course of nearly 15 years.

Club career

Hierro was born in Vélez-Málaga, Province of Málaga. After beginning his football career at local club Vélez-Málaga, he had a very brief youth spell with neighbouring CD Málaga, where he was told he was not good enough for the sport, which prompted a return back home. He eventually made his La Liga debuts with Real Valladolid, being bought by Real Madrid after two solid seasons.

At Real, Hierro scored seven goals in 37 contests in his first season, and eventually had his position on the field advanced, by then coach Radomir Antić, continuing his good performances with the addition of goals – in three seasons combined, he scored an astonishing 44 league goals, 21 alone in 1991–92, a career-best. During years, he often partnered club great Manuel Sanchís in the centre of the defense, being instrumental in the conquest of five leagues and three UEFA Champions League, and being named captain after the latter's retirement.

On 24 March 2002, Hierro scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 home win against Real Zaragoza, although the ultimate leader would be Valencia CF. He was released at the end of the 2002–03 season, alongside club manager Vicente del Bosque, under rather unceremonious circumstances and without the fanfare normally accorded to a player of his stature. Having appeared in 497 top division games over the course of 16 seasons (105 goals), he then chose a lucrative move to the wealthy but developing Middle East football industry, joining Qatar's Al Rayyan Sports Club.

After just one year, Hierro returned to Europe, signing with English Premiership side Bolton Wanderers on the advice of his English team-mate at Real Madrid, Steve McManaman, and teaming up with another former club employee, Iván Campo. He scored one league goal for Bolton, which came in a 3–2 loss at Norwich City in December 2004. Even though he was hard-pressed by fans and manager Sam Allardyce to stay for a further campaign, he announced his retirement from professional football on 10 May 2005. He remained a fan favorite long after his departure, with the fans still singing a song created for him, and was widely regarded as one of the club's greatest ever players.

In July 2011, Hierro returned to his native region, being appointed Málaga CF's director of football.

International career

Hierro was capped 89 times for Spain and scored 29 goals, being only surpassed by Raúl González (who also took over his captain armband in June 2002, when he retired) and David Villa. He made his debut on 20 September 1989, freshly signed by Madrid, in a 1–0 friendly win with Poland, in A Coruña, and appeared for the nation in the 1990 (although only as a squad member), 1994, 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, as well as UEFA Euro 1996 (where he missed a penalty as Spain crashed out to hosts England in a shootout) and 2000.

One of his most important goals came during the 1994 World Cup qualification, as he headed the winning goal against Denmark that allowed ten-men Spain to qualify for the final tournament in the USA. In the finals, he scored on an individual play against Switzerland in the round of 16, before his team was eliminated by Italy in the quarterfinals.

Although he had already been in charge for a few weeks, Hierro was officially presented as sporting director of the Royal Spanish Football Federation in late September 2007. He remained four years in the position.

Honours

Team

• Real Madrid:
  • UEFA Champions League: 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2001–02
  • UEFA Super Cup: 2002
  • Intercontinental Cup: 1998, 2002
  • Spanish League: 1989–90, 1994–95, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2002–03
  • Spanish Cup: 1992–93
  • Spanish Supercup: 1990, 1993, 1997, 2001

• Al Rayyan:
  • Qatari Cup: 2003–04

Individual

• UEFA Best Defender: 1997–98
• FIFA World Cup: All-star team 2002

Statistics

Club

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Copa de la Liga		Europe		Total
1987–88	Valladolid	Spanish League	29	1	0	0	–		–		29	1
1988–89			29	2	0	0	–		–		29	2
1989–90	Real Madrid	Spanish League	37	7	5	0	–		4	0	46	7
1990–91			35	7	3	0	–		5	1	43	8
1991–92			37	21	7	3	–		9	2	53	26
1992–93			33	13	8	0	–		6	5	47	18
1993–94			34	10	3	0	–		4	1	41	11
1994–95			33	7	2	0	–		5	0	40	7
1995–96			31	7	4	0	–		5	1	40	8
1996–97			39	6	6	2	–		–		45	8
1997–98			28	3	2	0	–		10	3	40	6
1998–99			28	6	4	1	–		8	1	40	8
1999–00			20	5	2	0	–		14	2	36	7
2000–01			29	5	1	0	–		13	1	43	6
2001–02			30	5	5	0	–		14	0	49	5
2002–03			25	0	1	1	–		12	0	38	1
Qatar			League		Emir of Qatar Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2003–04	Al Rayyan	Qatari League	19	3	–		–		–		19	3
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2004–05	Bolton	Premier League	29	1	0	0	0	0	–		29	1
Total	Spain		497	105	53	7	–		109	17	659	129
	Qatar		19	3	–		–		–		19	3
	England		29	1	0	0	0	0	–		29	1
Career total			545	109	53	7	0	0	109	17	707	133

• Copa del Rey matches includes Supercopa de España matches.

• Europe matches includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup matches.

International

Spain national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1989	2	0
1990	1	1
1991	4	0
1992	6	3
1993	6	2
1994	13	2
1995	7	3
1996	9	2
1997	6	2
1998	7	3
1999	6	5
2000	9	2
2001	7	2
2002	6	2
Total	89	29

Personal

Hierro's older brothers, Antonio and Manuel, were also professional footballers and defenders. The latter amassed 174 first division matches (17 goals) with Málaga, Valladolid (pairing up with Fernando as the side finished eighth in 1987–88), Real Betis and CD Tenerife.

As Málaga were relegated from the second division in the 2005–06 season, Manuel briefly coached the Andalusians.

External links

• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• Fernando Hierro at National-Football-Teams.com
• Fernando Hierro – FIFA competition record

Sporting positions
Preceded by Manuel Sanchís	Real Madrid C.F. captain 2001–2003	Succeeded by Raúl González
Preceded by Andoni Zubizarreta	Spain national football team captain 1998–2002	Succeeded by Raúl González