Nando (footballer, born May 1967)

Fernando Martínez Perales (born 21 May 1967), commonly known as Nando, is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a left-back, also a manager.

Nando
Personal information
Full name Fernando Martínez Perales
Date of birth (1967-05-21) 21 May 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth Valencia, Spain
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Left-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1986 Levante 52 (4)
1986–1987 Valencia B
1987–1992 Valencia 140 (7)
1992–1997 Deportivo La Coruña 173 (8)
1998–2000 Sevilla 68 (0)
2000–2001 Compostela 32 (1)
2001–2002 Atlético Arteixo
Total 465 (20)
International career
1988 Spain U21 2 (0)
1988–1993 Spain 2 (0)
Managerial career
2009–2011 Somozas
2011–2012 Cerceda
2013 Pontevedra
2015–2016 Banants (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

In his career, the majority of which was spent at Valencia and Deportivo, he totalled 413 games across the two top tiers of Spanish football over 14 seasons. Of those, 343 were in La Liga (15 goals).

Club career

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Born in Valencia, Nando began his career with local club Levante UD, but moved across town to La Liga's Valencia CF after securing promotion from Tercera División in 1987.[1] An attacking-minded fullback who started his career as a midfielder,[2] he spent five seasons at the latter, but started less frequently in his final two years following the arrival of Brazilian Leonardo.

Nando joined Deportivo de La Coruña on a free transfer in the summer of 1992, which also saw Adolfo Aldana, Bebeto and Mauro Silva arrive at the Estadio Riazor. During his spell, the Galician side began their rise to Super Depor fame, winning its first two trophies – the Copa del Rey[3] and the Supercopa de España, both in 1995 – which were the player's first and only honours.

Following the arrival of John Toshack as Deportivo manager in 1995, Nando once again found himself increasingly on the sidelines.[2] Although he regained first-choice status for the 1996–97 season he lost his place to Frenchman Jérôme Bonnissel in the following, and signed with Segunda División team Sevilla FC in January 1998 after five and a half years and 202 competitive appearances.

Nando helped the Andalusians to promote to the top flight in his first full season, but suffered immediate relegation in a campaign in which he played 30 league matches, and met the same fate the following year with second-tier SD Compostela, after which he retired from professional football aged 34, going on to compete at amateur level with Atlético Arteixo.[2]

International career

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Nando made his debut for Spain on 14 September 1988 in a 1–2 friendly loss to Yugoslavia, in Oviedo.[4] His second – and final – appearance came four and a half years later in a 1–1 draw with Mexico, another exhibition game which was played in Las Palmas.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Mínguez, Jesús (18 March 2010). "1987: el Levante dice 'hasta nunca' a la Tercera" [1987: Levante says 'see you never' to Tercera]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Nando". Deportivo La Coruña Fansite. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  3. ^ Carbajosa, Carlos E. (28 June 1995). "Supertítulo" [Supertitle]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  4. ^ Perearnau, Francisco (15 September 1988). "1–2: Adiós a la "flor"..." [1–2: Farewell to the "flower"...]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  5. ^ Román, Rogelio (28 January 1993). "Más joven, pero igual de gris" [Younger, but just as grey]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2017.
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