Víctor Sánchez del Amo is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a right midfielder, and a current manager. His crossing ability is among the qualities which brought him international recognition with Spain, and especially Deportivo. He started his career with Real Madrid, and went on to win a total of seven major titles between the two clubs combined; over 11 seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 310 matches and 49 goals. After five years as an assistant, Sánchez started working as a manager in 2015.
Sánchez was born in Madrid. Being a product of the famous Real Madrid youth system, he made his first-team debut on 25 May 1996 in the season's last matchday, a 1–0 away win against Real Zaragoza. Almost never a starter during his spell in the capital, Sánchez did appear in 36 La Liga games in 1996–97 as the Fabio Capello-led side won the national championship, and would play a relative role in Madrid's conquest of the following campaign's UEFA Champions League.
Deportivo
For 1998–99, Sánchez had to leave his hometown club as he faced stiff competition, and his first stop was Racing de Santander where he scored 12 top division goals to earn a move to Deportivo de La Coruña. In the 1999–2000 season, he missed just one league match as Deportivo won the league – its first – netting four goals. It was as creator rather than scorer, however, that Sánchez impressed in the 2001–02 edition of the Champions League, a season which saw the Galicians win the Copa del Rey. He helped Depor to a third-place finish in 2002–03 with four goals in 30 games, adding a couple in the Champions League prior to the team's second group stage elimination. In 2003–04, Sánchez enjoyed his best return in front of goal, scoring seven in 31 appearances, including a 3 January 2004hat-trick at neighbours RC Celta de Vigo, as Deportivo finished third behind Valencia CF and FC Barcelona. He failed to find the net, though, in a Champions League campaign which concluded with a semi-final loss to FC Porto; in his last year, they would finish eighth in the league and the player was not offered a new contract, a decision helped by the fact he had recently been injured.
Later years
On 3 August 2006, Sánchez signed a two-year contract with Greek league giants Panathinaikos FC for about €1.5 million per year. He appeared sparingly throughout the season and, in October 2007, returned to Spain, penning a one-year deal with second division club Elche CF – he spent the first months of the new season training on his own. At the end of the campaign, Sánchez renewed his link for a further year, only to back down immediately on his original decision, leaving in July 2008. He retired at the age of 32, with more than 500 official games to his credit.
