Luis López Rekarte

Luis López Rekarte

Personal information
Full name	Luis María López Rekarte
Date of birth	March 26, 1962 (1962-03-26)
Place of birth	Mondragón, Spain
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Right back
Youth career
	Aretxabaleta
	Alavés
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1980–1985	Alavés
1985–1988	Real Sociedad	92	(2)
1988–1991	Barcelona	59	(0)
1991–1996	Deportivo La Coruña	149	(5)
1996–1997	Mallorca	11	(0)
National team
1988	Spain U23	1	(0)
1988	Spain	4	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Luis María López Rekarte (born 26 March 1962 in Mondragón, Basque Country) is a retired Spanish footballer who played mainly as a right defender.

Club career

López Rekarte made his professional debuts with Deportivo Alavés, amidst the massive financial difficulties the Basque side endured, culminating with the relegation to the third division in 1983. Two years later, he signed with neighbours Real Sociedad.

Forming a defensive quarter with legendary Alberto Górriz, Agustín Gajate and Juan Antonio Larrañaga, López Rekarte was an undisputed starter on a side that won the Spanish Cup in 1987, whilst in the following year they emerged runner-up in both domestic competitions.

After losing the 1988 domestic cup final to FC Barcelona, López Rekarte moved to the La Liga giants, alongside José Mari Bakero and Txiki Begiristain. Relatively used in his first two seasons, he appeared rarely in Barça's 1991 league conquest, playing in all but one of his 13 matches as a used substitute. His greatest moment with the Catalans came in the 1988–89 Cup Winners' Cup final: brought in from the bench, Rekarte netted the decisive 2–0 to seal the win.

Being a crucial member of a rising Deportivo de La Coruña side soon dubbed Super Depor (he never played less than 25 matches during a five-year stay), López Rekarte retired in 1997, after another spell in the second division, now with RCD Mallorca.

International career

López Rekarte had four caps for Spain in 1988, the first coming in a friendly against East Germany on 27 January, in Valencia (0–0).

Honours

• Real Sociedad:
  • Spanish Cup: 1986–87

• Barcelona:
  • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1988–89
  • Spanish League: 1990–91
  • Spanish Cup: 1989–90

• Deportivo:
  • Spanish Cup: 1994–95
  • Spanish Supercup: 1995

Personal

López Rekarte is the older brother of another professional footballer, Aitor, who also played for Real Sociedad (ten years), also being a right back, and an international.

External links

• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Spanish)