- Rafael Alkorta
Football player infobox
playername = Rafael Alkorta
fullname = Rafael Alkorta Martínez
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1968|9|16|mf=y
cityofbirth =Bilbao ,Biscay
countryofbirth =Spain
height = 1,78 m
currentclub =Retired
clubnumber =
position = Defender
youthyears = 1978-1985
youthclubs =Athletic Bilbao
years= 1985-1987 1987-1993
1993-1997
1997-2002
clubs =Bilbao Athletic Athletic Bilbao Real Madrid Athletic Bilbao
caps(goals) = 40 (?) 172 (2)
107 (2) 91 (4)
nationalyears = 1990-1998
nationalteam = Spain
nationalcaps(goals) = 54 (0)
pcupdate =
ntupdate =Rafael Alkorta Martinez, Alkorta (born
September 16 ,1968 inBilbao ,Vizcaya ), is a former Spanish footballer who played forAthletic Bilbao ,Real Madrid and Spain, as acentral defender .Club career
Alkorta began playing as a junior with
Athletic de Bilbao in 1978 and made his professional debut withBilbao Athletic in 1985. He made 40 appearances with the reserve side before being promoted byHoward Kendall to the senior team in 1987, making his debut in a 0-1 defeat atReal Valladolid , onOctober 24 . He subsequently made 172 "La Liga " appearances, and established himself as an outstanding man marker.Alkorta attracted the attention of
Real Madrid , for whom he signed in 1993-94. At Real, he formed a notable partnership withFernando Hierro . After 107 league appearances (scoring twice) and two titles, he returned to Athletic in 1997-98, helping the side finish second in his return. He played a further 91 league matches, with 4 goals, before retiring as a player in 2002.International career
An international since
May 26 ,1990 (a 1-0 friendly away win against Yugoslavia), Alkorta made 54 appearances for Spain until 1998.He played in three World Cups - 1990, 1994 and 1998 - and Euro 96, also representing Spain at U-16, U-18 and U-21 levels.
Honours
Real Madrid
*Spanish League: 1994-95, 1996-97
* Spanish Supercup: 1994External links
* [http://www.lfp.es/historico/primera/plantillas/historial.asp?jug=5274 Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional] es icon
* [http://futbol.sportec.es/seleccion/ficha_jugador.asp?j=24&n=alkorta/rafael/alkorta/martinez National team data] es icon
* [http://www.bdfutbol.com/en/j/j2258.html BDFutbol.com profile]
* [http://www.canal21.com/exclusivos/futbol/main_jugadores.htm?com=general&fb_jug=2&fb_nombrejug=ALKORTA Canal21.com bio] es icon
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