Santiago Aragón

Santiago Aragón Martínez (born 3 April 1968) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Aragón and the second or maternal family name is Martínez.
Santiago Aragón
Personal information
Full name Santiago Aragón Martínez
Date of birth (1968-04-03) 3 April 1968
Place of birth Málaga, Spain
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1988 Real Madrid B 69 (6)
1988–1993 Real Madrid 18 (1)
1989 → Español (loan) 8 (0)
1989–1990 → Logroñés (loan) 21 (3)
1991–1992 → Valladolid (loan) 17 (3)
1992–1993 → Zaragoza (loan) 10 (2)
1993–2003 Zaragoza 293 (33)
Total 414 (46)
National team
1985 Spain U18 1 (0)
1989 Spain U21 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He was a technically evolved player who often assumed playmaker duties, and played mainly for Real Zaragoza, appearing in more than 350 official matches in 11 seasons – ten in La Liga – and winning three major titles.[1]

Club career

Aragón was born in Málaga, Andalusia. A Real Madrid youth graduate, he played one game for the 1988 league champions (a 0–0 away draw against RC Celta de Vigo on 16 April 1988),[2] also appearing in two and a half seasons with the reserve team in Segunda División; barred by Rafael Martín Vázquez first and Gheorghe Hagi afterwards he was loaned successively to RCD Español and CD Logroñés, both in La Liga, where he only featured in 29 matches combined.[1]

After another loan at Real Valladolid, with top flight relegation, Aragón's career was threatened with fading into obscurity until he joined Real Zaragoza, first on loan. He would be the Aragonese side's dictator of play for several seasons (providing for the likes of Juan Esnáider, Miguel Pardeza and Gustavo Poyet), only missing nine games in his first four seasons combined while also scoring 17 goals himself.[1]

Aragón was part of the side that won the 1995 edition of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup,[3][4] having conquered the Copa del Rey the previous campaign. After contributing with four goals to Zaragoza's return to the top division in 2003 he retired aged 35, with nearly 500 official appearances to his credit.

In January 2008, Aragón had his first coaching experience, joining former Zaragoza teammate Ander Garitano's coaching staff precisely at the club. After only one week and two matches (one in the cup), the head manager cited personal reasons for leaving his post, and his assistant followed him.[5]

Honours

Real Madrid

Zaragoza

References
  1. Gimeno, Marcos (22 April 2015). "Yo jugué en el Real Zaragoza: Santi Aragón" [I played for Real Zaragoza: Santi Aragón] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  2. "0–0: Plantó cara el "Mini-Madrid"" [0–0: “Mini-Madrid” put up a fight]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 17 April 1988. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  3. "1994/95: Nayim's bolt from the blue sinks Arsenal". UEFA. 1 June 1995. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  4. "¿Qué fue de 'los héroes de París'?" [What happened to the 'heroes of Paris'?]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 4 May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  5. "Garitano dimite como técnico del Zaragoza" [Garitano resigns as Zaragoza manager]. El País (in Spanish). 22 January 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
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