Santiago Aragón

Santiago Aragón
Personal information
Full name	Santiago Aragón Martínez
Date of birth	3 April 1968 (age 56)
Place of birth	Málaga, Spain
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years	Team
1985–1988	Real Madrid B
1988–1993	Real Madrid
1989	→ Español (loan)
1989–1990	→ Logroñés (loan)
1991–1992	→ Valladolid (loan)
1992–1993	→ Zaragoza (loan)
1993–2003	Zaragoza
Total
International career
1985	Spain U18
1989	Spain U21
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Santiago Aragón Martínez (born 3 April 1968) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

He was a technically evolved player who often assumed playmaker duties, and played mainly for Real Zaragoza, appearing in 362 official matches in 11 seasons – ten in La Liga – and winning three major titles.^[1]^[2]

Club career

Aragón was born in Málaga, Andalusia. A Real Madrid youth graduate, he played one game for the 1988 league champions, a 0–0 away draw against RC Celta de Vigo on 16 April 1988,^[3] also spending two and a half seasons with the reserve team in the Segunda División; barred by Rafael Martín Vázquez first and Gheorghe Hagi afterwards he was loaned successively to RCD Español and CD Logroñés, both in La Liga, where he only totalled 29 appearances.^[1]

After another loan at Real Valladolid, with top-flight relegation, Aragón's career was threatened with fading into obscurity until he joined Real Zaragoza, first on loan. He would be the Aragonese side's dictator of play for several seasons – providing for the likes of Juan Esnáider, Miguel Pardeza and Gus Poyet – only missing nine matches in his first four seasons while scoring 17 goals himself.^[1]

Aragón was part of the side that won the 1995 edition of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup,^[4]^[5] having conquered the Copa del Rey the previous campaign.^[6] After contributing four goals to Zaragoza's return to the top division in 2003 he retired aged 35, with 524 competitive appearances to his credit.^[7]

In January 2008, Aragón had his first coaching experience, joining his former Zaragoza teammate Ander Garitano's coaching staff at the club. After only one week and two matches (one in the cup), the head manager cited personal reasons for leaving his post, and his assistant followed him.^[8]

Honours

Real Madrid

Zaragoza

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gimeno, Marcos (22 April 2015). "Yo jugué en el Real Zaragoza: Santi Aragón" [I played for Real Zaragoza: Santi Aragón] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
^ Oliván Lázaro, Javier (18 May 2023). "Zapater, tras la estela de Aguado y Violeta" [Zapater, following Aguado and Violeta]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 October 2023.
^ "0–0: Plantó cara el "Mini-Madrid"" [0–0: "Mini-Madrid" put up a fight]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 17 April 1988. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
^ "1994/95: Nayim's bolt from the blue sinks Arsenal". UEFA. 1 June 1995. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
^ ^a ^b "¿Qué fue de 'los héroes de París'?" [What happened to the 'heroes of Paris'?]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 4 May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
^ ^a ^b Giménez, Paco (20 April 2016). "22 años de esta gozada" [22th anniversary of this blast]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 October 2023.
^ Ferrer, Pedro Luis (29 June 2003). "La Romareda repartió sus sentimientos" [La Romareda shared its feeling]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 October 2023.
^ "Garitano dimite como técnico del Zaragoza" [Garitano resigns as Zaragoza manager]. El País (in Spanish). 22 January 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2019.

External links

Santiago Aragón at BDFutbol

[VAVEL-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gimeno, Marcos (22 April 2015). "Yo jugué en el Real Zaragoza: Santi Aragón" [I played for Real Zaragoza: Santi Aragón] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 24 June 2019.

[2] Oliván Lázaro, Javier (18 May 2023). "Zapater, tras la estela de Aguado y Violeta" [Zapater, following Aguado and Violeta]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 October 2023.

[3] "0–0: Plantó cara el "Mini-Madrid"" [0–0: "Mini-Madrid" put up a fight]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 17 April 1988. Retrieved 18 March 2014.

[4] "1994/95: Nayim's bolt from the blue sinks Arsenal". UEFA. 1 June 1995. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2016.

[CWC-5] "¿Qué fue de 'los héroes de París'?" [What happened to the 'heroes of Paris'?]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 4 May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016.

[COPA-6] Giménez, Paco (20 April 2016). "22 años de esta gozada" [22th anniversary of this blast]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 October 2023.

[7] Ferrer, Pedro Luis (29 June 2003). "La Romareda repartió sus sentimientos" [La Romareda shared its feeling]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 October 2023.

[8] "Garitano dimite como técnico del Zaragoza" [Garitano resigns as Zaragoza manager]. El País (in Spanish). 22 January 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]