Joaquín Sánchez

Joaquín

Personal information
Full name	Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez
Date of birth	21 July 1981 (1981-07-21)
Place of birth	El Puerto de Santa María, Spain
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Málaga
Number	7
Youth career
1994–1999	Betis
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2000	Betis B	26	(2)
2000–2006	Betis	218	(31)
2006–2011	Valencia	158	(18)
2011–	Málaga	15	(2)
National team
1999–2000	Spain U18	4	(0)
2001	Spain U21	7	(0)
2002–2007	Spain	51	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals).

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

Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez (born 21 July 1981), simply Joaquín, is a Spanish footballer who plays for Málaga CF.

A right winger, he is well known for his flashy style of play, lightning quick pace, acceleration, excellent dribbling ability and pinpoint crossing.

During his career, Joaquín was solely associated with Betis and Valencia, also being capped for Spain on more than 50 occasions, representing the nation in two World Cups and one European Championship.

Club career

Betis

Joaquín was born in El Puerto de Santa María, Province of Cádiz. In the 1999–2000 season, he started his senior career, appearing regularly for Real Betis B (after spending five years in the youth ranks) as it eventually relegated from division three; in the following season, he moved to the first team, making his professional debut on 26 August 2000, and having an immediate impact (38 matches and three goals), as the Andalusians returned to La Liga after one year out.

Subsequently, Joaquín collected well over 200 official appearances for Betis in the following five years, assisting and scoring alike (50+ decisive passes in the league seasons). During 2004–05, he played in all the games netting five times, and added three goals in the season's Copa del Rey: in the latter, as the final was played at the Vicente Calderón, on 11 June 2005, he played the full 90 minutes plus extra time, as Betis won 2–1 against CA Osasuna.

In the following season's UEFA Champions League, Joaquín appeared in all six group stages for Betis, including the 1–0 triumph over Chelsea and a 0–0 draw against Liverpool, at Anfield (third-place finish, UEFA Cup "demotion").

On 27 July 2006, following a conversation with Joaquín, Betis chairman José León stated that the player had convinced him that he would stay at the club for another year. "It has surprised me a lot,” he admitted. “I came to convince him and on the contrary, he has convinced me", he further added. Then, during mid-August, Joaquín shocked Los Béticos by declaring in a press conference his intentions to leave the club.

Valencia

Joaquín was meant to move to Valencia CF in early August 2006 for €15 million, in a swap deal that also included Mario Regueiro. However, some difficulties in the payment appeared, along with the Uruguayan's insistence in remaining at Valencia, with the transfer thus being delayed. A bid of €25 million was later accepted.

Joaquín was loaned to Albacete Balompié as punishment by Betis owner Manuel Ruiz de Lopera due to Joaquín taking a certain percentage of the transfer fee. Lopera used a clause in the player's contract whereby he could be loaned to any club if it was decided by Betis (Joaquín travelled to his new club's facilities using his own transport and, to prove that he did so, had himself photographed by operatives working nearby. The switch to Albacete was then cancelled).

Joaquín officially moved to Valencia in late August 2006 for €25 million, making him the club's most expensive signing to that date, as the player penned a five-year contract, with the choice of a further one-year extension. In his first season, he played 35 matches and scored five goals, as the Che qualified for the Champions League's qualifying rounds.

In the 2009–10 season, Joaquín began facing stiff competition for a starting berth, being challenged by younger Pablo Hernández; during the course of the campaign - Valencia also played in the UEFA Europa League - both players received roughly the same amount of minutes, and scored a similar total of goals.

With the departure of David Villa to FC Barcelona, Joaquín was given the #7 shirt for 2010–11. He led the scoring charts after the first round, netting twice in a 3–1 win at Málaga CF. On 12 February 2011, he netted another brace, helping Valencia come from behind at Atlético Madrid to win it 2–1, eventually finishing third and qualify to the Champions League.

Málaga

On 24 June 2011, aged 29, Joaquín left Valencia and signed for high-spending Málaga for three years, for a fee of €4 million. He made his debut for the club on 28 August, in a 1–2 away loss against Sevilla FC, and opened his scoring account by netting twice in another local derby, a 4–0 home win against Granada CF.

International career

Joaquín made his debut for the Spanish national team on 13 February 2002 against Portugal, in a 1–1 friendly played in Barcelona.

Brilliant club form for Betis saw him get called up for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he appeared twice. In his second match, the quarter-finals against South Korea, he was involved in a couple of debatable decisions, including one incident where the linesman raised his flag for a goal kick as Joaquín was crossing a ball to Fernando Morientes, who was denied a golden goal. The argument was that the ball had crossed the line; however, replays showed that it did not. The game then went to penalties, and Joaquín was chosen to take Spain's fourth attempt, which was blocked by Lee Woon-Jae.

He played again for Spain in two out of three games (once as a starter) through the nation's premature exit at UEFA Euro 2004, also being selected for the 2006 World Cup (he totalled five matches, but was not first-choice at either competition).

During the early stages of the Euro 2008 qualification campaign, Spain lost 2–3 against Northern Ireland. After the match, Joaquín told in a Spanish radio interview: "Right now, the national team is a mess, chaos and Luis doesn't know how to handle it in these difficult moments. I know that what I'm saying is not going to help me get back into the national team, but it's what I feel." He later commented, "The only thing I wanted to say is that these are not clear times for the national squad after losing to Northern Ireland .... but it was not my intention to attack the team or Luis Aragonés".

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	4 February 2003	Estadio Antonio Amailivia, León, Spain	Armenia	3–0	3–0	Euro 2004 qualifying
2.	6 September 2003	Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, Guimarães, Portugal	Portugal	0–2	0–3	Friendly
3.	9 February 2005	Estadio Mediterraneo, Almería, Spain	San Marino	1–0	5–0	2006 World Cup qualification
4.	26 March 2005	Estadio El Helmántico, Salamanca, Spain	China PR	3–0	3–0	Friendly

Honours

Betis

• Copa del Rey: 2004–05

Valencia

• Copa del Rey: 2007–08

Individual

• La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2002

Statistics

Club

Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Assists	Cup	Apps	Goals	Assists	Europe	Apps	Goals	Assists
1999–00	Betis B	Segunda División B	26	2	?		-	-	-		-	-	-
2000–01	Betis	Segunda División	38	3	?		?	?	?		-	-	-
2001–02	Betis	La Liga	34	4	9		?	?	?		-	-	-
2002–03	Betis	La Liga	37	9	12		?	2	?		5	1	0
2003–04	Betis	La Liga	36	7	12		?	1	?		-	-	-
2004–05	Betis	La Liga	38	5	15		9	0	0		-	-	-
2005–06	Betis	La Liga	35	3	6		4	0	0		12	0	3
2006–07	Valencia	La Liga	35	5	3		2	0	0		8	0	2
2007–08	Valencia	La Liga	34	3	4		8	4	0		7	0	4
2008–09	Valencia	La Liga	31	4	6		5	1	2		4	1	1
2009–10	Valencia	La Liga	27	2	4		4	1	0		11	3	2
2010–11	Valencia	La Liga	29	4	7		3	0	1		6	1	1
2011–12	Málaga	La Liga	2	2
Total			400	53	76	Total	35	9	3	Total	53	6	13

International

Spain national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2002	9	0
2003	8	2
2004	9	0
2005	9	2
2006	7	0
2007	9	0
Total	51	4

Personal life

Joaquín grew up in a big family, with eight brothers and sisters in total. As the third child, he had two elder brothers. Three of the eight children in this family are or have been engaged in football. Besides Joaquín, elder Lucas played for Cádiz CF, while Ricardo also played in Betis' youth ranks.

It was Joaquín's uncle, called "El Chino", who firmly believed in Joaquín's talent and afforded the daily round trip between Cádiz and Seville when the youngster was in Betis' youth system - he died in 2002. Ever since then, Joaquín dedicated most of his achievements to him and always remembered him as his mentor. Growing up, he wanted to be a bullfighter, and was breastfed until the age of 7.

After the 2005 domestic cup conquest, Joaquín married his sweetheart Susana on 8 July, with the trophy present as a distinguished witness, as the entire Betis squad attended the wedding ceremony.

With the transfer to Valencia in the summer of 2006, Joaquín became a father, with daughter Daniela being born on 22 September. Four years and one day later, he welcomed a second child, Salma.

External links

• Málaga official profile
• BDFutbol profile
• Futbolme profile (Spanish)
• National team data (Spanish)
• Joaquín Sánchez at National-Football-Teams.com
• Joaquín Sánchez – FIFA competition record
• Transfermarkt profile
• CiberChe biography (Spanish)