José Luis Caminero


José Luis Pérez Caminero is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder.
Arguably one of the best Spanish footballers of the 1990s, Caminero was able to play in any midfield position, in the middle or in the wings. Having played 408 La Liga matches over 14 seasons, he possessed a vast array of skills: dribble, shot and physique, and his career was almost exclusively associated with Valladolid and Atlético Madrid.
Caminero represented Spain in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1996 UEFA European Championship, scoring in both tournaments.

Club career

After unsuccessfully emerging through the ranks of Real Madrid, Madrid-born Caminero signed with Real Valladolid for 1989–90, helping the side barely avoid La Liga relegation. He scored his first goal in the competition in the following season, in a 3–1 home win against Valencia CF on 16 December 1990.
The peak of Caminero's career took place from 1993–94, when he moved to Atlético Madrid. He was a key member of the squad that won an historical double in 1995–96, contributing with nine league goals in 37 games; accordingly, after the season, he was given the Spanish Footballer of the Year award by both the Madrid newspaper El País and the prestigious football magazine Don Balón, being the only Atlético player to win both awards during one season, and netted a career-best 14 goals the following campaign.
After four seasons at Atlético, Caminero re-joined Valladolid, where he ended his active playing career in 2004 after the team's top level relegation. In his final years, he further enhanced his versatility by playing in the sweeper position.
After his retirement, Caminero was installed as the team's director of football. He left the position citing personal reasons after 2007–08. In May 2011, he returned to Atlético in the same capacity.

International career

Caminero made his Spain national team debut on 8 September 1993, in a 2–0 friendly win with Chile in Alicante. He represented the country at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, where he was the nation's leading scorer at three and also in UEFA Euro 1996 in England, where he netted a late equalizer against France.
Overall, Caminero scored eight goals in 21 caps, and his last appearance was against England in Euro '96, in a penalty shootout loss.

International goals

Arrest

In June 2009, Caminero was arrested for possible connections to drug traffic operations, with a further 30 people being taken into custody for interrogation. He was released upon the reading of his rights.

Caminero in popular culture

Caminero's football genius also made it to the silver screen. Spanish movie director Pedro Almodóvar included his dribbling against FC Barcelona's defender Miguel Ángel Nadal in his 1997 film Live Flesh.

Honours

Club

Atlético Madrid