Pedro Munitis

Pedro Munitis

Personal information
Full name	Pedro Munitis Álvarez
Date of birth	19 June 1975 (1975-06-19)
Place of birth	Santander, Spain
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Racing Santander
Number	10
Youth career
1992–1993	Santoña
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1993–1997	Racing B
1995–2000	Racing Santander	83	(14)
1997–1998	→ Badajoz (loan)	28	(10)
2000–2003	Real Madrid	53	(4)
2002–2003	→ Racing Santander (loan)	30	(8)
2003–2006	Deportivo La Coruña	90	(5)
2006–	Racing Santander	169	(12)
National team
1999–2002	Spain	21	(2)
* 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 Munitis and the second or maternal family name is Álvarez.

Pedro Munitis Álvarez (born 19 June 1975) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Racing de Santander usually as a forward, although he can also operate as winger.

At 5' 6" (about 1.67 metres), he is one of the shortest players in La Liga, and is best known for his fighting spirit. His professional career, which spanned nearly two decades, was mainly associated with Racing de Santander - he also represented Real Madrid for two years - and he played in more than 400 Spanish top flight games over the course of 16 seasons.

A Spanish international in the late 90's/early 2000's, Munitis represented the country at Euro 2000.

Club career

Born in Santander, Cantabria, Munitis played in three separate periods for hometown Racing de Santander, first appearing with its first team on 22 January 1995, in a 0–0 home draw against Real Sociedad.

After a loan to CD Badajoz (second division) and netting 14 goals in 72 league contests with Racing from 1998–2000, Munitis attracted attention from La Liga giants Real Madrid, who signed him for £6.8 million. He would be relatively used during his two seasons with the capital side, helping it to one league and one UEFA Champions League.

Munitis spent the 2002–03 season on loan at Racing Santander, notably scoring (and celebrating) against Real Madrid in a 2–0 home win, on 19 October 2002. In the following off-season, he was purchased up by Deportivo de La Coruña on a free transfer. After a poor first season, he would be one of the Galicia side's most important offensive players, also being used as a left winger, providing for rest for veteran captain Fran, and being his replacement when Fran retired after 2004–05.

Munitis returned to Racing in July 2006, forming an interesting offensive partnership with gigantic Serbian Nikola Žigić in his first season, and helping it achieve a first ever UEFA Cup qualification during his second. On 19 April 2009, he played his 200th league game for the club, at RCD Espanyol.

In the 2009–10 season, 34-year old Munitis was again an undisputed starter, but did not manage to find the net in 29 league contests, and his season was over during Racing's 3–1 home win against Espanyol due to a knee injury, on 14 April 2010; at that time, he ranked second in assists, only trailing FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi.

On 17 October 2010, after more than one year without scoring, 35-year old Munitis netted from 30 metres for the only goal of the home fixture against UD Almería. During the season, he again featured prominently in the starting XI, under both Miguel Ángel Portugal and his successor Marcelino García Toral, the latter returned to the club after nearly three years.

International career

Munitis played for Spain 21 times, scoring two goals. He represented the nation at UEFA Euro 2000, appearing as a substitute and scoring in a 4–3 group stage win against Yugoslavia, and starting in the quarterfinal loss to France (1–2).

Munitis' debut came on 27 March 1999, in an Euro 2000 qualifier against Austria in Valencia, playing 30 minutes in a 9–0 thrashing in Valencia.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	18 August 1999	Polish Army Stadium, Warsaw, Poland	Poland	1–2	1–2	Friendly
2.	21 June 2000	Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges, Belgium	Yugoslavia	2–2	3–4	UEFA Euro 2000

Honours

Real Madrid

• UEFA Champions League: 2001–02
• UEFA Super Cup: 2002
• Spanish League: 2000–01

External links

• Racing Santander official profile (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• Pedro Munitis at National-Football-Teams.com
• Pedro Munitis – FIFA competition record
• Transfermarkt profile