Tomás Olías Gutiérrez (born 4 February 1969) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mostly as a central defender.

Tomás Olías
Personal information
Full name Tomás Olías Gutiérrez
Date of birth (1969-02-04) 4 February 1969 (age 55)
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
Moscardó
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1989 Moscardó
1989–1991 Málaga 0 (0)
1989–1990Marbella (loan) 27 (2)
1990–1991Estepona (loan) 25 (3)
1991–1993 Marbella 65 (10)
1993–1999 Betis 153 (11)
1999–2002 Las Palmas 73 (6)
2002–2004 Levante 35 (0)
Total 378 (32)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He amassed La Liga totals of 161 matches and eight goals over seven seasons, in service of Betis (five years) and Las Palmas.

Club career

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After emerging through the ranks of CDC Moscardó in his hometown of Madrid, Olías went straight into La Liga in 1989 after signing with CD Málaga,[1] but he never appeared in competitive games for the former club during his spell, being consecutively loaned.[2][3][4] At the end of 1991–92, he achieved promotion to Segunda División with CA Marbella; in the following season, he scored a career-best seven goals to help the team to a comfortable seventh-place finish.[2]

In the summer of 1993, Olías followed Marbella coach Sergije Krešić to Real Betis, and he contributed with four goals from 28 appearances in top-division promotion as runners-up.[2] In the following campaign he featured relatively less – Krešić was also fired in the final stretch, being replaced by Lorenzo Serra Ferrer as the side eventually finished third;[2] his first game in the Spanish top flight took place on 18 September 1994 when he came on as a 55th-minute substitute for Alexis Trujillo in a 1–0 away loss against Athletic Bilbao,[5] and his maiden goal in the competition occurred on 6 November in a 1–1 home draw with Valencia CF.[6]

In the next years at the Estadio Benito Villamarín, Olías was regularly played as either a stopper or a defensive midfielder. In 1996–97 he netted five times in the league,[2] including a solo effort in the Seville derby which concluded a 3–0 away win over Sevilla FC;[7] during his spell, he was affectionately known as Monsignor by fans due to the lack of hair in his crown.[2]

Aged 30, Olías returned to the second tier in 1999, signing with UD Las Palmas and again reuniting with Krešić (as well as former Betis teammates Robert Jarni and Jaime Quesada). With 37 matches and five goals from the player in his first season, another promotion befell.[2]

Subsequently, Olías began to deal with injury problems, which aggravated at his next club Levante UD. He retired in June 2004, at the age of 35.[2]

Post-retirement

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After retiring, Olías lost all connection to the football world. He also opened a coffeehouse in Marbella, called "Primer Express".[8][2]

Honours

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Marbella

Las Palmas

References

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  1. ^ "Los equipos andaluces de Primera y Segunda División afrontan la temporada con la esperanza de no ser comparsas en la competición" [The Andalusian teams in Primera and Segunda División take on season hopeful of not being mere spectators in competition]. ABC (in Spanish). 28 August 1989. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Fernández S., J. Julián (30 May 2013). "Yo jugué en el Real Betis: Tomás Olías" [I played for Real Betis: Tomás Olías] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  3. ^ "0–0: Superioridad de las defensas en Marbella" [0–0: Defenders had the upper hand in Marbella]. ABC (in Spanish). 13 November 1989. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  4. ^ "1–0: Un gol tempranero dio el triunfo al Estepona" [1–0: Early goal gave triumph to Estepona]. ABC (in Spanish). 22 October 1990. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  5. ^ Castañeda, Eduardo (19 September 1994). "El Betis acaba la fiesta en Bilbao" [Betis stop the party in Bilbao]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  6. ^ Elías, Pepe (7 November 1994). "Justo reparto de puntos" [Points shared fairly]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  7. ^ Méndez, Juan (23 December 1996). "El Betis hace añicos al Sevilla" [Betis shatter Sevilla]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Tomás Olías: "Ni en los entrenamientos me salió un gol como el que le metí a Monchi"" [Tomás Olías: "Not even in training did I manage a goal like the one I put past Monchi"]. ABC (in Spanish). 30 April 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
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