Migueli

Miguel Bernardo Bianquetti (born 19 December 1951), known as Migueli, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Bernardo and the second or maternal family name is Bianquetti.

Migueli

Personal information
Full name	Miguel Bernardo Bianquetti
Date of birth	(1951-12-19) 19 December 1951
Place of birth	Ceuta, Spain
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position(s)	Centre back
Youth career
	O'Donnell
	Cádiz
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1970–1973	Cádiz	77	(4)
1973–1988	Barcelona	391	(20)
Total		468	(24)
National team
1975–1976	Spain amateur	2	(0)
1974–1980	Spain	32	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

A player of immense physical power – he was nicknamed Tarzan[1][2]– he was best known for his Barcelona spell, which lasted almost 20 professional years.

Migueli appeared with the Spain national team at the 1978 World Cup and Euro 1980.

Club career

Migueli was born in Ceuta. After playing with Cádiz CF from 1970 to 1973, competing in Segunda División, he transferred to La Liga giants FC Barcelona, where he became an undisputed starter after just one league game in his first year, going on to play 391 matches in the competition (549 overall, club's all-time best until 5 January 2011, when Xavi surpassed him in a Copa del Rey match against Athletic Bilbao);[3][4] whilst he was performing his compulsory military service in Cádiz he made his official debut for the latter, and upon his return, not aware that he needed two special permits to leave the headquarters, he was jailed for one month.[5]

In the final of the 1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup against Fortuna Düsseldorf, Migueli played parts of the match, which went to extra time, with a broken collarbone, in an eventual 4–3 win.[6][7] In the 1986–87 season, already well into his 30s, he still managed to make 41 appearances – 38 complete – and retired at the end of the following campaign, in which he added another domestic cup.

Subsequently, Migueli worked with the Catalan club's coaching staffs in the Joan Gaspart presidency. On 17 September 2010, he was chosen by new chairman Sandro Rosell as sporting advisor alongside Josep Maria Fusté and Carles Rexach.[8]

International career

Migueli earned 32 caps and scored one goal for Spain, his debut coming on 20 November 1974 in a 2–1 win in Scotland for the UEFA Euro 1976 qualifiers.[9] He represented the nation at the 1978 FIFA World Cup and Euro 1980, for a total of four appearances.[10]

Career statistics

Club

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Other[11]		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cádiz	1971–72	30	0	2	1	-	-	-	-	32	1
	1972–73	37	4	3	0	-	-	-	-	40	4
	Total	67	4	5	1	-	-	-	-	72	5
Barcelona	1973–74	1	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	1	0
	1974–75	29	2	4	0	6	0	-	-	39	2
	1975–76	34	5	5	0	9	1	-	-	48	6
	1976–77	25	1	1	0	7	0	-	-	33	1
	1977–78	33	2	6	1	10	1	-	-	49	4
	1978–79	28	0	2	0	9	1	-	-	39	1
	1979–80	31	2	2	1	7	0	-	-	40	3
	1980–81	20	3	6	1	2	0	-	-	28	4
	1981–82	3	0	1	0	2	0	-	-	6	0
	1982–83	31	1	6	0	6	0	6	0	49	1
	1983–84	30	0	7	0	3	1	2	0	42	1
	1984–85	32	4	8	0	1	0	4	0	44	4
	1985–86	29	0	5	0	9	0	1	0	44	0
	1986–87	41	0	0	0	8	0	-	-	49	0
	1987–88	24	0	7	0	6	0	-	-	37	0
	Total	391	20	60	3	85	4	13	0	549	27
Career totals		458	24	64	4	85	4	13	0	620	32

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 April 1980	El Molinón, Gijón, Spain	Czechoslovakia	1–1	2–2	Friendly[10]

Honours

Club

Barcelona

• La Liga: 1973–74, 1984–85
• Copa del Rey: 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1987–88
• Supercopa de España: 1983
• Copa de la Liga: 1983, 1986
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1978–79, 1981–82

Individual

• Best Spanish Player: 1977–78, 1984–85

References

1. «Si creemos, pasamos» («If we believe, we will pass»); El Mundo, 6 March 2007 (in Spanish)
2. "Rafa Nadal y Jorge Lorenzo, protagonistas de las dos portadas de ICON SPORT" [Rafa Nadal and Jorge Lorenzo, protagonists of the two ICON SPORT covers] (in Spanish). El País. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
3. Sólo Migueli supera ya a Xavi (Only Migueli in front of Xavi now) Archived 29 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine; Mundo Deportivo, 16 February 2009 (in Spanish)
4. Xavi y Migueli, los otros protagonistas (Xavi and Migueli, the other protagonists); FC Barcelona, 2 January 2011 (in Spanish)
5. "El día de mi debut acabé en el calabozo" ("I was sent to the dungeons the day of my debut"); Diario AS, 2 January 2011 (in Spanish)
6. 4–3: La Recopa para el Barça tras una final memorable (4–3: Cup Winners' Cup to Barça after memorable final); Mundo Deportivo, 17 May 1979 (in Spanish)
7. Migueli, ingresado tras sufrir un infarto (Migueli, in hospital after suffering heart attack); El Mundo, 2 August 2004 (in Spanish)
8. "Rexach, Migueli y Fusté serán asesores deportivos del Barça" [Rexach, Migueli and Fusté will be sporting advisors at Barça] (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 17 September 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
9. 1–2: Triunfo memorable en Hampden Park (1–2: Memorable win at Hampden Park); Mundo Deportivo, 21 November 1974 (in Spanish)
10. Miguel Bernardo Bianqueti, ‘Migueli’ – International Matches; at RSSSF
11. Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España, Copa de la Liga

External links

• Migueli at BDFutbol
• Migueli at National-Football-Teams.com
• Migueli – FIFA competition record
• Spain stats at Eu-Football

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Juanito	Best Spanish player 1977–78	Succeeded by Quini