César Sánchez

César Sánchez

Personal information
Full name	César Sánchez Domínguez
Date of birth	2 September 1971 (1971-09-02) (age 40)
Place of birth	Cáceres, Spain
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Villarreal
Number	1
Youth career
	Plasencia
	Valladolid
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1993	Valladolid B
1992–2000	Valladolid	206	(0)
2000–2005	Real Madrid	20	(0)
2005–2008	Zaragoza	110	(0)
2008–2009	Tottenham	0	(0)
2009–2011	Valencia	63	(0)
2011–	Villarreal	2	(0)
National team
2000	Spain	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 September 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 Domínguez.

César Sánchez Domínguez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈθesar ˈsantʃeθ]; born 2 September 1971), known as César or Sánchez, is a Spanish footballer who plays for Villarreal CF as a goalkeeper.

Club career

Valladolid / Real Madrid

César was born in Cáceres, Extremadura. He graduated through Real Valladolid's youth ranks, and made his debut with the first team in a 0–6 home defeat against FC Barcelona, at the end of the 1991–92 season. He only missed four league games between 1995–2000 combined.

Sánchez signed in 2000–01 for La Liga giants Real Madrid, initially backing-up wonderkid Iker Casillas. However, the following season, he eventually became first-choice and started five out of nine UEFA Champions League matches during the capital side's victorious campaign, but was substituted by Casillas in the final against Bayer Leverkusen after suffering an injury.

Zaragoza / Tottenham

In 2005–06, César joined Real Zaragoza,^[1] and was everpresent in the Aragonese side's lineups during three seasons. In August 2008, after Zaragoza's relegation to the second division, new boss Marcelino García Toral sidelined the player into the B team.

Shortly after, Sánchez was bought by Juande Ramos's Tottenham Hotspur.^[2] He made his first and only appearance for the London club against Liverpool, in a 4–2 win for the season's Football League Cup, replacing injured Heurelho Gomes.^[3]

Valencia / Later years

On 20 January 2009, César returned to Spain, joining Valencia CF on a free transfer until the end of the season.^[4] The Che had just lost, during a 2–3 loss at Athletic Bilbao, first-choice Renan to a groin injury. Despite this, César was still named on the bench for a Tottenham game on the 21st, the League Cup semifinal second leg against Burnley. On January 23, Tottenham announced that his contract had been cancelled by mutual consent.^[5] He retained first-choice status even when the Brazilian recovered from his injury.

After an impressive half-season, César (aged almost 38) renewed his link for another year.^[6] He started 2009–10 on the bench, playing second-fiddle to new signing Miguel Ángel Moyà; however, after unconvincing displays by the latter, he regained the starting spot, keeping consecutive clean sheets against Racing de Santander (1–0), defending champions Barcelona (0–0), UD Almería (3–0) and Málaga CF (1–0). In May 2010, after helping Valencia to the third place, with the team consequently returning to the Champions League, the veteran renewed his contract for another season.

On 2 April 2011, César became the oldest goalkeeper in Spanish League history as he appeared - as a starter - in a 4–2 away win against Getafe CF, aged 39 years and 212 days.^[7] He contributed with 15 games as Valencia finished third and qualified to the Champions League.

However, after the club acquired Diego Alves and renewed youth graduate Vicente Guaita's contract, César became surplus to requirements. On 2 June 2011, he signed a one-year contract with Valencian Community neighbours Villarreal CF,^[8] making his league debut on 10 September in a 2–2 home draw against Sevilla FC: after replacing sent off Diego López early into the first half, he stopped the ensuing penalty by Álvaro Negredo, whom however managed to score with a putback.^[9] Subsequently, he became only the fourth player to appear in a Spanish top division match over the age of 40, following Harry Lowe, Amedeo Carboni and Donato.

International career

César earned his first and only cap for Spain on 16 August 2000, in a 4–1 friendly defeat to Germany in Hannover.

Honours

Real Madrid

• Intercontinental Cup: 2002
• UEFA Champions League: 2001–02
• UEFA Super Cup: 2002
• Spanish League: 2000–01, 2002–03
• Spanish Supercup: 2001, 2003

References

1. ^ César switches to Zaragoza; UEFA.com, 13 June 2005
2. ^ "Sánchez signs". Tottenham Hotspur. 12 August 2008. http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/sanchezsigns120808.html. 
3. ^ "Tottenham 4-2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. 11 November 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/league_cup/7708820.stm. 
4. ^ César es el elegido (César is the chosen one); Levante EMV, 21 January 2009 (Spanish)
5. ^ "Sanchez departs". Tottenham Hotspur. 23 January 2009. http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/sanchezdeparts230109.html. 
6. ^ César renueva con el Valencia (César renews with Valencia); Marca, 24 June 2009 (Spanish)
7. ^ "César, el portero más veterano de la Liga [César, the League's most veteran goalkeeper]". Super Deporte. 2 April 2011. http://www.superdeporte.es/valencia/2011/04/02/cesar-portero-veterano-liga/124065.html. Retrieved 6 June 2011. 
8. ^ "Cesar Sanchez joins Villarreal". Goal.com. 2 June 2011. http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2011/06/02/2514935/cesar-sanchez-joins-villarreal-report. Retrieved 4 June 2011. 
9. ^ "Villarreal claim battling draw". ESPN Soccernet. 10 September 2011. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/324010?cc=5739. Retrieved 12 September 2011. 

External links

• Villarreal official profile
• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• Transfermarkt profile

Persondata
Name	Sánchez, César
Alternative names	César
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	2 September 1971
Place of birth	Cáceres, Spain
Date of death
Place of death