Manu Sánchez (footballer, born 1979)

Manu Sánchez
Personal information
Full name	Antonio Manuel Sánchez Gómez
Date of birth	25 January 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth	Fuengirola, Spain
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years	Team
1998–1999	Real Madrid C
1998–2001	Real Madrid B
2002–2007	Málaga
2007–2008	Hércules
2009–2010	Antequera
Total
International career
1997	Spain U17
1997–1998	Spain U18
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Antonio Manuel 'Manu' Sánchez Gómez (born 25 January 1979) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central midfielder.

Club career

Sánchez was born in Fuengirola, Province of Málaga. He came through the ranks of Real Madrid but never made it past the reserves. He was however included in Real's squad for the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship.^[1] He joined local Málaga CF in January 2002, being relatively used over five and a half seasons.

Manu's best output came in the 2002–03 campaign, with six La Liga goals in 36 appearances – including a brace against Athletic Bilbao on 9 March 2003 for a 3–0 home win^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]– with Málaga finishing 13th. Previously, he had helped the Andalusia team reach the UEFA Cup via the success in the Intertoto Cup.

In the summer of 2007, after having appeared in only three Segunda División games during the season, Sánchez signed with fellow league side Hércules CF, being released at the end of the campaign after playing in just ten out of 42 possible matches. In early 2009 he joined lowly Antequera CF in a return to his native region, with the club being eventually relegated to Tercera División.

Málaga

^ "Real Madrid". FIFA. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
^ "Angulo salva al Valencia de su primera derrota" [Angulo saves Valencia from first loss]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 22 September 2002. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
^ Guisasola, Carlos (6 October 2002). "El Málaga no pone límites a su ilusión" [The sky is the limit for Málaga]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 July 2016.
^ "El Málaga se divierte ante el Athletic" [Málaga have fun against Athletic]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 9 March 2003. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
^ "Tamudo saca al Espanyol del descenso" [Tamudo takes Espanyol from relegation]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 16 March 2003. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
^ Fornet, Óscar (18 May 2003). "El Málaga facilita el regreso del Madrid al Bernabéu" [Málaga make Madrid's return to the Bernabéu easy]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 July 2016.