Fernando Hierro (born 23 March 1968 in Vélez-Málaga ) is a former Spanish player. He played as a defender for the Spanish national team and Real Madrid football club. He was also the captain of both teams. At his peak, Hierro's ability to combine solid defensive play with a near-unlimited passing range made him one of the world's most sought-after players.
With Real Madrid, Hierro won the Liga championship five times and the Champions League three times: 1998, 2000, and 2002.
He was released by Real Madrid at the end of the 2002-03 season. After playing for one year for Qatar club Al Rayyan , Hierro returned to Europe for the 2004-05 season, signing with English Premiership side Bolton Wanderers on the advice of his English team-mate at Real Madrid, Steve McManaman . He announced his retirement after one season in England and finished playing football on May 15th 2005. Hierro had made a great impact at Bolton playing in an anchor midfield role and consigning compatriot Ivan Campo to bench duty and manager Sam Allardyce would have loved him to stay on but Hierro had made up his mind to hang up his boots.
Hierro has been capped 89 times for Spain, a record for a Spanish outfield player, and has scored 29 goals. He played for his country in the 1994 , 1998 , and 2002 World Cups , as well as Euro 96 and Euro 2000 . At the time of the 2002 World Cup, he was the leading goalscorer for the Spanish national team. He retired from the national team in 2002 and was since replaced both as captain and as leading goalscorer by Raúl.
Fernando Ruiz Hierro (1989-2003)
José Antonio Camacho Alfaro (1973-1989)
José Antonio Camacho Alfaro was born on 8th of June 1955 in Cieza (Murcia). He was the biggest star in Defense, Real Madrid ever had, when he was playing there for 15 years between (1974 and 1989) comming up from Castilla, RMs youth team in 1974. He played 698 (414 first division) games for RM and won with them 8 league titles (1975,1976,1978,1980,1986,1987,1988,1989), 2 UEFA Cups (1985,1986)..as he was part of the famous 'Quinta del Buitre', 5 Copas del Rey (1974,1975,1980,1982,1989), 1 spanish Supercopa (1988) and 1 Liga-Cup (1985).
In 1989 he finnished his active carreer but kept faith to football in becomming the coach of RMs youth, before he was sorted out to support Di Stefano coaching one year later. His coaching career led him to Rayo Vallecano, Espanyol (that he lead to promotion to La Liga) and Sevilla till he was supposed to give his come-back at the Bernabeu as coach. But after a row with now ex-president Lorenzo Sanz he stepped down after only 22 days.
His highlight has been so far the caretaking of the spanish national team (he himself was holding a record field games played for the national team with 81, only Hierro could overtake him in 2002 during the WC 2002), which he lead to the final stages in EC 2000 and WC 2002, still he was missing luck in these turnaments. After WC 2002 he went to coach Benfica to win the portuguise cup with them in 2004. Now he finally returned to the Bernabeu for the next 2 seasons.
Ferenc Puskás (1958-1967)
Ferenc Puskás (born April 2 , 1927 in Budapest ) was a Hungarian football player, nicknamed Puskás Öcsi ( öcsi means "little brother"). Puskas is a Real Madrid legend.
Also known as the "Galloping Major" because of the post he once held in the Hungarian army, Puskás possessed a ferocious left-footed shot (some claimed it was the most powerful ever seen on a left foot) and was the star of the Hungarian national team of the late 1940s and early 1950s (nicknamed the "Magnificent Magyars"), which many regarded as the finest national team of its time.
Although he left school at the age of 12, he was a professional football player as a teenager. Puskás started his club career with Budapesti Honvéd in 1943 . He moved to Real Madrid in 1958 , and played for them when they won the European Cup three times (1959, 1960 and 1966), including the classic final in 1960 when they beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3. Puskás scored four goals, with Alfredo Di Stefano scoring three. This Madrid team was considered one of the finest teams to ever assembled to play the game. In his club career, he apparently totalled 511 goals, a number believed to be third all-time behind Pelé and Josef Bican .
Because of political reasons Puskás left Hungary in 1956 and immigrated to Spain where he played in Real Madrid . Puskás also appeared four times for the Spanish national team in 1961 and 1962 , but did not score. His 83 international goals in 84 appearances were an all-time record (for men) until 2003 , when it was broken by Iran 's Ali Daei .
Puskás, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease , is one of the most famous living Hungarians and lives now in Budapest in a special care home. Hungary 's national stadium was renamed in his honor in 2001.