Luis López Rekarte
Personal information
Full name Luis María López Rekarte
Date of birth (1962-03-26) 26 March 1962
Place of birth Mondragón, Spain
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Youth career
Aretxabaleta
Alavés
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1985 Alavés 114 (9)
1985–1988 Real Sociedad 92 (2)
1988–1991 Barcelona 59 (0)
1991–1996 Deportivo La Coruña 149 (5)
1996–1997 Mallorca 11 (0)
Total 425 (16)
International career
1988 Spain U23 1 (0)
1988 Spain 4 (0)
1993–1994 Basque Country 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Luis María López Rekarte (born 26 March 1962) is a Spanish former footballer who played mainly as a right-back.

He amassed La Liga totals of 300 games and seven goals over 11 seasons, representing in the competition Deportivo (five years), Real Sociedad and Barcelona (three apiece) and winning six major titles.

Club career

Born in Mondragón, Basque Country, López Rekarte's first sport was track and field (with a personal best of 10.05 in the 100 metres).[1] He made his professional debut in football with Deportivo Alavés amidst the massive financial difficulties the club endured, culminating with the relegation to the Segunda División B in 1983.[2] Two years later, he signed with neighbouring Real Sociedad.

Forming a defensive quarter with legendary Alberto Górriz, Agustín Gajate and Juan Antonio Larrañaga, López Rekarte started for a side that won the Copa del Rey in 1987. The following year, they emerged runners-up in both domestic competitions.

López Rekarte joined FC Barcelona after losing the 1988 Spanish cup final to the La Liga giants, alongside teammates José Mari Bakero and Txiki Begiristain.[1] Relatively used in his first two seasons, he featured rarely in Barça's 1991 league conquest, all but one of his 13 appearances being as a used substitute. His greatest moment with the Catalans came in the final of the 1988–89 Cup Winners' Cup: brought in from the bench, he scored the decisive 2–0 to seal the win.[3]

Being a crucial member of a rising Deportivo de La Coruña side soon dubbed Super Depor – he never played less than 25 matches during his spell at the Estadio Riazor – López Rekarte retired in 1997 at the age of 35 after another stint in Segunda División, now with RCD Mallorca.[4]

International career

López Rekarte had four caps for Spain in 1988, the first coming in a friendly against East Germany on 27 January, in Valencia (0–0).[5]

Personal life

López Rekarte was the older brother of another professional footballer, Aitor, who also played for Real Sociedad, also being a right-back and an international.[6][7] His niece, Maitane López, was also involved in the sport.[8]

After retiring, he worked as Aitor's agent. He later engaged in mountaineering.[1]

Honours

Real Sociedad

Barcelona

Deportivo

References

  1. 1 2 3 Giraldo, Javier (15 March 2018). "¿Qué fue de López Rekarte? De Donosti al Himalaya" [What happened to López Rekarte? From Donosti to the Himalayas]. Sport (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  2. ↑ Mallo, Borja (23 January 2021). "100 años entre la gloria y el barro" [100 years between the glory and the mud]. Noticias de Álava (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 "1988/89: Hat-trick for Barcelona". UEFA. 1 June 1989. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Casado, Edu (3 April 2020). "Qué fue de… Luis María López Rekarte: tres Copas del Rey con tres camisetas diferentes" [What happened to… Luis María López Rekarte: three King's Cups with three different shirts]. 20 minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  5. ↑ Astruells, Andrés (28 January 1988). "Muchos altibajos y poco "punch"" [Too many highs and lows and little punch]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  6. ↑ Viñarás de Blas, Vidal (1 February 2017). "Hermanos de Primera" [Top-class brothers] (in Spanish). Cuadernos de Fútbol. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Zabala, Jon (22 September 2017). "Mondragón, una 'fábrica' de defensas txuriurdines" [Mondragón, a 'factory' of txuriurdin defenders]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  8. ↑ Griñán, Marta (27 January 2021). "Maitane, otra 'López Rekarte' que triunfa en la Real Sociedad" [Maitane, another 'López Rekarte' making it big at Real Sociedad]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
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