Nacho (footballer, born 1967)

José Ignacio Fernández Palacios (born 3 February 1967), known as Nacho, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a left back.

Nacho

Personal information
Full name	José Ignacio Fernández Palacios
Date of birth	3 February 1967
Place of birth	Foz, Spain
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Left back
Club information
Current team	Órdenes (coach)
Youth career
1984–1986	Gran Peña
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1986–1992	Celta	127	(1)
1992–2001	Compostela	199	(4)
Total		326	(5)
National team
2005	Galicia	1	(0)
Teams managed
2010–2011	Cerceda
2011–	Órdenes
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

His entire professional career was associated to Celta and Compostela. He appeared in 198 La Liga matches over eight seasons, scoring four goals.

Club career

Born in Foz, Province of Lugo, Nacho played his entire career in his native Galicia. He signed in 1986 with Celta de Vigo from amateurs Gran Peña FC, making his first-team debut in Segunda División and contributing with 20 games (15 starts) as the club promoted to La Liga.

Nacho played his first match in the top level on 6 September 1987, featuring ten minutes in a 3–3 home draw against Valencia CF[1] and finishing the season with 18 appearances in an eventual seventh-place finish. He continued to be regularly used in the following years, being relegated in 1990 but winning promotion in 1992, even though he was only a fringe player in the latter campaign.

In the 1992 off-season, Nacho joined SD Compostela in the second level,[2] playing 20 matches in his second year in a first-ever promotion to the top flight.[3] From 1995 to 1998 he made an average of 35 league appearances, with the team being relegated at the end of the 1997–98 season.

Nacho spent three more seasons with Compostela, playing only 23 games combined and suffering relegation in 2001, although he made no appearances in his last year.[4] He retired in June 2001, at the age of 34.

International career

In 1995 Javier Clemente thought about him as Sergi Barjuán's sub in the UEFA Euro 1996 and told the media that he would be called-up for the national team's next game. In an interview to El País, Nacho stated he had no desire to be selected to play for the Spain national team, saying he did not "relate" to the cause.[5] Since rejecting a call-up was punished with a one-year from club competitions, Clemente decided not to call him up after phoning him to make sure of his position. He would have been Compostela's first international. In the end the position was covered by another Galician left back, his former teammate Jorge Otero in his final national team appearance.

In 2005 he finally represented Galicia, appearing against Uruguay at the Estadio Multiusos de San Lázaro.[6]

PLaying style

References

1. "3–3: Baltazar impidió el triunfo del Valencia" [3–3: Baltazar prevented Valencia win]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 7 September 1987. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
2. "Un Compos de Primera" [Primera Compos] (in Spanish). Míticos del Balompié. 28 December 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
3. García Solano, Manuel (2 June 1994). "El Compostela asciende al cielo de la Primera" [Compostela reach Primera heaven]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 March 2014.
4. "Graves lesiones de Nacho y Falagán" [Serious injuries for Nacho and Falagán]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 29 September 1999. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
5. Hermida, Xosé (16 November 1995). "El dilema de Nacho" [Nacho's dilemma]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2011.
6. "La historia de Nacho: el futbolista que rechazó a España" [The story of Nacho: the footballer that said no to Spain] (in Spanish). Indiscretos. 24 February 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.

External links

• Nacho at BDFutbol
• Celta de Vigo biography (in Spanish)