Santillana (footballer)
# Santillana (footballer)

Carlos Alonso González (born 23 August 1952), known as Santillana, is a Spanish former footballer who played as a striker.

He was best known for his Real Madrid spell, which consisted of 17 La Liga seasons and 645 competitive matches. He signed with the club in 1971, from Racing de Santander.

The recipient of more than 50 caps for Spain, Santillana represented the nation in two World Cups and as many European Championships.

## Club career

Born in Santillana del Mar, Cantabria, Santillana (nickname taken from birthplace) started playing professionally with local Racing de Santander, moving to Real Madrid and La Liga in 1971 alongside teammate Francisco Aguilar, aged just 19, and proceeding to score ten goals in 34 games in his debut season as the team were crowned league champions.

Santillana went on to win nine league titles, four Copa del Reys and back-to-back UEFA Cups, while scoring in both of the latter competition's finals. He played 645 first-team matches – a record which stood until Manolo Sanchís surpassed him during the 1997–98 campaign – in which he netted 290 goals; the eighth-highest all-time scorer in the first division, with 186 goals in 461 appearances, he never won the Pichichi Trophy.

After just 12 league appearances in 1987–88, in which he scored four times, Santillana retired from football at almost 36, finding the net in a 2–1 home win against Real Valladolid. Madrid conquered three titles in a row in his final three seasons.

## International career

Santillana played 56 times and scored 15 goals for the Spain national team, his debut being on 17 April 1975 in a 1–1 draw with Romania for the UEFA Euro 1976 qualifiers held in Madrid. He represented his country in the 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cups, as well as three European Championships: 1976, reaching the quarter-finals, 1980, failing to advance to the second round, and 1984 which ended with a runner-up finish to hosts France, with the player coming close to scoring the opener on a header saved just off the line by Luis Fernández, of Spanish origin.

On 21 December 1983, during a European Championship qualifying match against Malta that had to be won by 11 goals in order to qualify, Santillana scored a hat-trick in the first half and added a fourth in the second period, as the national side qualified at the expense of the Netherlands – incidentally, his former understudy at Real Madrid, Hipólito Rincón (now at Real Betis), also netted four times in a 12–1 victory.

## Style of play

Santillana possessed stellar heading skills despite not reaching 1.80 m, courtesy of his jumping ability, and was widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the history of Spanish football.

## Career statistics

### Club

| Club | Season | League | League | Cup | Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Club | Season | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Racing Santander | 1970–71 | 35 | 16 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 16 |
| Racing Santander | Total | 35 | 16 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 16 |
| Real Madrid | 1971–72 | 34 | 10 | 6 | 3 | — | — | 4 | 2 | — | — | 44 | 15 |
| Real Madrid | 1972–73 | 29 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 5 | — | — | 35 | 15 |
| Real Madrid | 1973–74 | 18 | 3 | 6 | 7 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 9 |
| Real Madrid | 1974–75 | 32 | 17 | 7 | 3 | — | — | 4 | 3 | — | — | 43 | 23 |
| Real Madrid | 1975–76 | 30 | 12 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 7 | 5 | — | — | 39 | 18 |
| Real Madrid | 1976–77 | 30 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 1 | — | — | 36 | 13 |
| Real Madrid | 1977–78 | 34 | 24 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 40 | 28 |
| Real Madrid | 1978–79 | 33 | 18 | 11 | 6 | — | — | 4 | 2 | — | — | 48 | 26 |
| Real Madrid | 1979–80 | 33 | 23 | 6 | 3 | — | — | 8 | 3 | — | — | 47 | 29 |
| Real Madrid | 1980–81 | 31 | 13 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 8 | 3 | — | — | 43 | 17 |
| Real Madrid | 1981–82 | 20 | 9 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 2 | — | — | 28 | 11 |
| Real Madrid | 1982–83 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 29 |
| Real Madrid | 1983–84 | 31 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 41 | 17 |
| Real Madrid | 1984–85 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 5 | — | — | 37 | 12 |
| Real Madrid | 1985–86 | 27 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 5 | — | — | 44 | 14 |
| Real Madrid | 1986–87 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 5 | 2 | — | — | 25 | 4 |
| Real Madrid | 1987–88 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 4 | — | — | 4 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 8 |
| Real Madrid | Total | 461 | 186 | 84 | 49 | 12 | 8 | 87 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 645 | 290 |
| Career total | Career total | 496 | 202 | 85 | 49 | 12 | 8 | 87 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 681 | 306 |

* 1 2 3 4 5 Appearances in UEFA Cup
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Appearances in European Cup
* 1 2 Appearances in Cup Winners' Cup
* ↑ Includes the first goal in the semi-finals of the Copa de la Liga against Real Zaragoza on 22 June 1983; some sites such as Be Soccer attribute it to Santillana, while others such as BDFutbol attribute it as an own goal by Eugenio Vitaller.
* ↑ Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España

### International

| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1. | 16 November 1975 | 23 August, Bucharest, Romania | Romania | 0–2 | 2–2 | Euro 1976 qualifying |
| 2. | 24 April 1976 | Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain | West Germany | 1–0 | 1–1 | Euro 1976 qualifying |
| 3. | 4 October 1978 | Maksimir, Zagreb, Yugoslavia | Yugoslavia | 0–2 | 1–2 | Euro 1980 qualifying |
| 4. | 13 December 1978 | El Helmántico, Salamanca, Spain | Cyprus | 3–0 | 5–0 | Euro 1980 qualifying |
| 5. | 13 December 1978 | El Helmántico, Salamanca, Spain | Cyprus | 5–0 | 5–0 | Euro 1980 qualifying |
| 6. | 9 December 1979 | Tsirion, Limassol, Cyprus | Cyprus | 0–2 | 1–3 | Euro 1980 qualifying |
| 7. | 27 April 1983 | La Romareda, Zaragoza, Spain | Republic of Ireland | 1–0 | 2–0 | Euro 1984 qualifying |
| 8. | 16 November 1983 | De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands | Netherlands | 1–1 | 2–1 | Euro 1984 qualifying |
| 9. | 21 December 1983 | Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain | Malta | 1–0 | 12–1 | Euro 1984 qualifying |
| 10. | 21 December 1983 | Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain | Malta | 2–1 | 12–1 | Euro 1984 qualifying |
| 11. | 21 December 1983 | Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain | Malta | 3–1 | 12–1 | Euro 1984 qualifying |
| 12. | 21 December 1983 | Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain | Malta | 9–1 | 12–1 | Euro 1984 qualifying |
| 13. | 11 April 1984 | Luis Casanova, Valencia, Spain | Denmark | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 14. | 26 May 1984 | Charmilles, Geneva, Switzerland | Switzerland | 0–1 | 0–4 | Friendly |
| 15. | 17 June 1984 | Vélodrome, Marseille, France | Portugal | 1–1 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 1984 |

## Honours

Real Madrid

* La Liga: 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88
* Copa del Rey: 1973–74, 1974–75, 1979–80, 1981–82
* Copa de la Liga: 1985
* UEFA Cup: 1984–85, 1985–86

Spain

* UEFA European Championship runner-up: 1984

Individual

* Pichichi Trophy (Segunda División): 1970–71
