Manolo (footballer, born 1947)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Rodríguez and the second or maternal family name is Alfonso.

Manolo
Manolo during the 2018 Trofeo Memorial Quinocho
Personal information
Full name Manuel Rodríguez Alfonso[1]
Date of birth (1947-12-22) 22 December 1947[1]
Place of birth Cangas, Spain
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position Defender
Youth career
1962–1966 Celta
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1966–1982 Celta 462 (16)
International career
1966–1972 Spain Olympic 4 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Manuel Rodríguez Alfonso (born 22 December 1947), known as Manolo, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defender.

He spent his entire career with Celta de Vigo, making 533 appearances for the club which was an all-time record for several decades.

Club career

Born in Cangas, Pontevedra,[2] Manolo joined RC Celta de Vigo's academy at age 14.[3] In 1966, he was promoted to the first team and made his debut for them in the Segunda División.[4]

Manolo appeared in his first La Liga game on 14 September 1969, in a 2–1 away loss against Real Sociedad.[5] He scored his first official goal on 23 June 1968, helping to a 3–2 comeback win over Real Madrid in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Copa del Generalísimo. The first of four in the domestic league came on 14 February 1971, the only as the hosts beat UD Las Palmas.[6][2]

On 27 January 1974, Manolo suffered a serious knee injury after a tough tackle by FC Barcelona's Johan Cruyff; he continued to play in the following weeks, however, with the aid of anti-inflammatory drugs. Three years later, when the two teams met again at the Camp Nou, he refused to be selected as captain in order to avoid saluting the Dutchman.[7][8]

Manolo remained at the club, as captain, until the end of the 1981–82 season, promoting to the top flight as champion.[9] He totalled 533 matches during his spell (including two in the 1971–72 UEFA Cup, a first-ever European participation for the Galicians), holding the all-time record until 2025–26 when he was surpassed by Iago Aspas;[10][11][12] of those, 226 were in the top division.[13]

On 6 May 1982, 30,000 people gathered at Balaídos Stadium to watch Manolo's farewell match between Celta and the Poland national team.[14][15]

International career

Manolo played for the Galicia national team in the Copa Nacional de Selecciones, and also represented Spain at Olympic level. In 1974, he was poised to be called up by the full side, but it did not come to fruition due to his knee injury.[16]

Honours

Celta

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Manolo at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ a b "Tal día como hoy nacía Manolo, el Gran Capitán" [Manolo, the Great Captain, was born on a day like today]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 22 December 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  3. ^ Álvarez, Juan Carlos (19 August 2023). "El catálogo de leyendas" [Catalogue of legends]. Faro de Vigo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  4. ^ Castro, Jorge (23 August 2023). "Manolo Rodríguez: "Es un orgullo permanecer en esta ciudad, a la que quiero con locura"" [Manolo Rodríguez: "I'm proud to remain in this city, one I love madly"]. Atlántico Diario (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  5. ^ Sáez, Jesús María (16 September 1969). "Atocha fue "tabu" para el Celta" [Atocha was "taboo" to Celta]. El Pueblo Gallego (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  6. ^ Paz, Joham (16 February 1971). "1–0: Se ganó con fatiga, pero justamente" [1–0: Win was achieved tiringly, but fairly]. El Pueblo Gallego (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  7. ^ "Manolo no quiere capitenear al Celta en el Camp Nou" [Manolo does not want to captain Celta at the Camp Nou]. El País (in Spanish). 24 April 1977. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  8. ^ Vázquez Fraga, Míriam (17 December 2016). "50 años del inicio de una leyenda" [50th anniversary of the beginning of a legend]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  9. ^ a b c "El ascenso del Celta en el 82, precursor del logrado por el Mallorca" [Celta's promotion in 82, forerunner of that achieved by Mallorca]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 26 June 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  10. ^ "De Manolo a Hugo Mallo: un repaso pola capitanía do Celta" [From Manolo to Hugo Mallo: Celta captains revisited]. Nós Diario (in Galician). 4 August 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  11. ^ Buceta, Jacobo (27 May 2025). "El selecto Club de los Siete" [The select Seven Club] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  12. ^ Valero, Rafa (7 October 2025). "Manolo, feliz de que Iago Aspas le tome el relevo" [Manolo, happy to see Iago Aspas take his place]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  13. ^ "Hugo desafía el récord de Manolo" [Hugo challenges Manolo's record]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 26 June 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  14. ^ "Manolo era homenajeado en Balaídos" [Manolo was honoured at Balaídos]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 7 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  15. ^ "Un hombre a una camiseta pegado" [A man attached to a shirt]. Faro de Vigo (in Spanish). 19 April 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  16. ^ Bacariza, Marcos L. (24 March 2013). "Las leyendas de Balaídos: (X) Manolo" [Legends of Balaídos: (X) Manolo] (in Spanish). Moi Celeste. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  17. ^ a b Rodríguez Sánchez, José Luis (23 October 2014). "Momentos Celta-Levante: Pavic, veterano de guerra" [Celta-Levante moments: Pavic, war veteran] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
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