JOSE SANTAMARIA

José Emilio Santamaría Iglesias (born 31 July 1929) is a retired football central defender, having earned the nickname 'The Wall' for his consistent defensive displays. He spent his 18-year career with Nacional and Real Madrid, winning 17 major titles the two teams combined, including four European Cups with the latter. Born in Uruguay, Santamaría represented both the Uruguay and Spain national teams.

Santamaría played for local Club Nacional de Football in his country, winning five national championships during his spell. In 1957 the 28-year-old moved abroad, signing with Real Madrid where he remained until the end of his career. In his first season with the Merengues, Santamaría contributed with 34 appearances the La Liga and European Cup tournaments combined, with both ending in conquest. He went on to add a further ten major trophies to his collection, being first-choice for the vast majority of his stint. antamaría retired at the end of the 1965–66 campaign at the age of nearly 37, featuring twice in that year's European Cup en route to another triumph (against Feyenoord and at Kilmarnock). He played 337 official games for Real Madrid.

Santamaría was first called up to play for Uruguay for the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, being selected to fill an inside forward slot in the squad but seeing the request denied by his club on the grounds that he was a defender. Four years later, however, he was an integral part of the national team setup at the World Cup in Switzerland, helping it to a final fourth position and gaining a total of 20 caps. Santamaría began representing Spain in 1958, his debut coming on 15 October against Northern Ireland (6–2 friendly win in Madrid). He appeared with his adopted nation at the 1962 World Cup, playing against Czechoslovakia (0–1 loss) and Mexico (1–0 triumph) in an eventual group stage exit.