Manuel Negrete Arias

Manuel Negrete

Personal information
Full name	Manuel Negrete Arias
Date of birth	March 11, 1959 (1959-03-11) (age 52)
Place of birth	Ciudad Altamirano, Mexico
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1979–1986	UNAM Pumas	215	(53)
1986	Sporting CP	15	(3)
1987	Sporting de Gijón	4	(1)
1987–1990	UNAM Pumas	117	(39)
1990–1991	CF Monterrey	27	(0)
1991–1992	UNAM Pumas	38	(11)
1992–1993	Atlante F.C.	24	(3)
1993–1994	Toros Neza	19	(3)
1994–1995	CF Acapulco	?	(?)
1995–1996	Atlante F.C.	6	(0)
National team
1981–1990	Mexico	57	(12)
Teams managed
2004–2005	Atlante Neza
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of March 2008. † Appearances (Goals).

Manuel "Manolo" Negrete Arias (born March 11, 1959 in Ciudad Altamirano, Guerrero) is Mexican coach and former football midfielder, who became famous for scoring one of the most spectacular goals of the 1986 World Cup. He is currently the manager of Club León in the Primera Division A.

Club career

Negrete became a professional football player in 1980 with Club Universidad Nacional of Mexico, also known as Pumas. His style of play gave him instant recognition among Mexican soccer fans, with Negrete becoming a household name quickly. After the 1986 World Cup, Negrete continued playing in the Mexican Football League, and then reached the European soccer leagues by joining Sporting Lisbon in Portugal and then moving to Sporting de Gijón in Spain.

National team

Determined to post a much better result at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, for which Mexico automatically qualified because it was the event's host country, the Mexican Association Football Federation chose a very exclusive group of players to represent their country, including Negrete as a member of the national team.

In the 1986 World Cup finals, Negrete participated in five games and scored one goal in the round of 16 against Bulgaria in the 35th minute, the first of a 2-0 win. The goal has been described as one of the most spectacular in World Cup history by many football fans and journalists. Negrete received a high ball outside the penalty area, controlled it, let the ball bounce once on the ground and combined with Javier Aguirre; the latter returned the ball on the first touch, while keeping it on the air, and Negrete shot it on a scissor kick into the bottom left corner of goalkeeper Borislav Mikhailov. Mexico repeated their best result at a World Cup during that tournament, reaching the quarterfinals for the second time (a feat they accomplished first at the 1970 World Cup, also hosted by Mexico).

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	August 16, 1984	Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	3–0	3–0	Friendly
2.	March 1, 1984	Puskás Ferenc Stadion, Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	1–0	2–0	Friendly
3.	September 18, 1984	Estadio Universitario, San Nicolás, Mexico	Argentina	1–1	1–1	Friendly
4.	November 11, 1984	National Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad and Tobago	1–0	2–0	Friendly
5.	February 5, 1985	Estadio La Corregidora, Querétaro, Mexico	Poland	2–0	5–0	Friendly
6.	February 5, 1985	Estadio La Corregidora, Querétaro, Mexico	Poland	5–0	5–0	Friendly
7.	June 15, 1985	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	West Germany	1–0	2–0	Azteca Cup
8.	October 11, 1985	March 28 Stadium, Benghazi, Libya	Libya	1–1	1–3	Friendly
9.	December 7, 1985	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City , Mexico	Algeria	1–0	2–0	1985 Mexico Cup
10.	March 6, 1986	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States	Denmark	1–0	1–1	Friendly
11.	June 15, 1986	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	Bulgaria	1–0	2–0	1986 FIFA World Cup
12.	February 21, 1989	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States	Guatemala	1–0	2–1	1989 Friendship Cup

Post-playing career

Negrete has led a more quiet life in Mexico since he retired from playing. He worked as coach of the UNAM Pumas youth teams, and later went to Club León as an assistant coach. He became head coach after the firing/resignation of Mario Alberto Garcia.

External links

• National Football Teams profile
• Fussballdaten.de's take on Negrete, in German
• Video of Negrete's goal against Bulgaria in 1986 - www.kenaston.org

Persondata
Name	Negrete, Manuel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 11, 1959
Place of birth	Ciudad Altamirano, Mexico
Date of death
Place of death