Real Madrid great Jose Emilio Santamaria, a defender who won four European Cups with the club, has died at the age of 96, the Spanish side announced on Wednesday.
The Uruguay international joined Madrid in 1957 and went on to lift one Intercontinental Cup, six La Liga titles and one Spanish Cup, making 337 appearances over nine seasons.
“Santamaria will always be remembered as one of the great symbols of our club. He was part of a team that will remain in the memory of all madridistas and football fans worldwide,” Real Madrid President Florentino Perez said in a statement.
Santamaria played 25 times for Uruguay and also represented Spain on 16 occasions. He featured for Uruguay at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland and later appeared for Spain at the 1962 World Cup in Chile.
After his playing career, he managed Spain’s Olympic team at the 1968 Mexico City Games and the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He was also Spain’s coach at the 1982 World Cup on home soil and spent seven seasons in charge of Espanyol, overseeing 252 matches.
–Reuters–
