Miguel Reina


Miguel Reina Santos is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
He played 312 La Liga matches over 16 seasons, mainly in representation of Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, winning six major titles combined.

Club career

Born in Córdoba, Andalusia, Reina finished his development with local Córdoba CF. He made his La Liga debut on 11 October 1964 in a 2–0 home win against Elche CF, aged only 18, and finished his first season with 26 appearances as his team ranked in fifth position.
In the 1966 off-season Reina joined FC Barcelona, appearing in only four league games in his first three years combined as he acted as understudy to both José Manuel Pesudo and Salvador Sadurní. From 1969–70 onwards he became first-choice, going on to win his second Copa del Rey with the Catalans – the first as an active member – and adding the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for the 1972–73 campaign.
Aged 27, Reina left Barça and signed for Atlético Madrid, rarely missing a game in his first five seasons and winning the 1977 national championship – his only in the competition. He also reached the final of the 1974 European Cup against FC Bayern Munich at the Heysel Stadium in Belgium: after 90 minutes the match was tied 0–0 and, in the 114th minute, Luis Aragonés scored for the Colchoneros, but Reina let in a long-range shot with just seconds to go and the Spaniards went on to lose the replay 0–4.
From 1978 to 1980, Reina only managed to be third-choice at Atlético, and retired at the age of 34 with nearly 450 official appearances to his credit. He held the record for the fastest goalkeeper to achieved 100 clean sheets in La Liga – a feat which he accomplished in 222 appearances – until it was broken by Jan Oblak in 2020, who achieved the milestone in only 182 appearances.

International career

Reina earned five caps for Spain, in a period of three and a half years. His debut came on 15 October 1969 in a 6–0 win against Finland for the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, played at La Línea de la Concepción.
Previously, Reina was selected by manager José Villalonga for his 1966 World Cup squad in England, remaining on the bench for the entire tournament.

Personal life

Reina's son, Pepe, was also a footballer and a goalkeeper. He too played for Barcelona and Spain, also representing Liverpool for several years.
In the 1970–71 season, Reina was only played by English coach Vic Buckingham away from the Camp Nou, as the player was consistently booed by his own fans after a poor performance against FC Dynamo Moscow.

Honours

Club

Barcelona
Atlético Madrid
Spain U18