Luis López Rekarte

Luis María López Rekarte (born 26 March 1962) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a right back.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is López and the second or maternal family name is Rekarte.
Luis López Rekarte
Personal information
Full name Luis María López Rekarte
Date of birth (1962-03-26) 26 March 1962
Place of birth Mondragón, Spain
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Right back
Youth career
Aretxabaleta
Alavés
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1985 Alavés 114 (9)
1985–1988 Real Sociedad 92 (2)
1988–1991 Barcelona 59 (0)
1991–1996 Deportivo La Coruña 149 (5)
1996–1997 Mallorca 11 (0)
Total 425 (16)
National team
1988 Spain U23 1 (0)
1988 Spain 4 (0)
1993–1994 Basque Country 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He amassed La Liga totals of 300 games and seven goals over 11 seasons, representing in the competition Deportivo (five years), Real Sociedad and Barcelona (three apiece) and winning six major titles all teams combined.

Club career

Born in Mondragón, Basque Country, López Rekarte made his professional debut with Deportivo Alavés, amidst the massive financial difficulties the club endured, culminating with the relegation to the third division in 1983. Two years later, he signed with neighbouring Real Sociedad.

Forming a defensive quarter with legendary Alberto Górriz, Agustín Gajate and Juan Antonio Larrañaga, López Rekarte was an undisputed starter in a side that won the Copa del Rey in 1987. The following year, they emerged runner-up in both domestic competitions.

After losing the 1988 Spanish cup final to FC Barcelona, López Rekarte moved to the La Liga giants alongside José Mari Bakero and Txiki Begiristain. Relatively used in his first two seasons he appeared rarely in Barça's 1991 league conquest, playing in all but one of his 13 games as a used substitute; his greatest moment with the Catalans came in the 1988–89 Cup Winners' Cup final: brought in from the bench, he scored the decisive 2–0 to seal the win.[1]

Being a crucial member of a rising Deportivo de La Coruña side soon dubbed Super Depor (he never played less than 25 matches during a five-year stay), López Rekarte retired in 1997 after another spell in the second level, now with RCD Mallorca.

International career

López Rekarte had four caps for Spain in 1988, the first coming in a friendly against East Germany on 27 January, in Valencia (0–0).[2]

Personal life

López Rekarte was the older brother of another professional footballer, Aitor, who also played for Real Sociedad, also being a right back and an international.[3]

Honours

Real Sociedad

Barcelona

Deportivo

References
  1. 1988/89: Hat-trick for Barcelona; UEFA, 1 June 1989
  2. Muchos altibajos y poco "punch" (Too many highs and lows and little punch); Mundo Deportivo, 28 January 1988 (in Spanish)
  3. Mondragón, una 'fábrica' de defensas txuriurdines (Mondragón, a 'factory' of txuriurdin defenders); Marca, 22 September 2017 (in Spanish)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.