Manolo Clares
Clares (w. Barcelona, 1974)
Personal information
Full name Manuel Clares García
Date of birth (1948-02-23) 23 February 1948
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Atlético Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1965–1966 Getafe Deportivo
1966–1971 Gandía
1970–1974 Castellón 110 (37)
1974–1978 Barcelona 87 (35)
1978–1980 Rayo Vallecano 47 (9)
1980–1981 Gandía
1981–1982 Villarreal
International career
1973 Spain 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Manuel 'Manolo' Clares García (23 February 1948) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a forward.

He appeared in 197 La Liga games over eight seasons, totalling 66 goals for Castellón, Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano.

Club career

Born in Madrid, Clares played lower league football until the age of 23, representing Getafe Deportivo and CF Gandía. In March 1971 he signed with CD Castellón, scoring 13 goals in 36 games in his first full season to help the club return to La Liga after a 25-year absence.[1]

Clares made his debut in the Spanish top flight on 17 September 1972, in a 1–4 home loss against Athletic Bilbao.[2] During the campaign, he contributed 11 goals from 30 appearances to help the Valencians to a best-ever fifth position, as well as the final of the Copa del Rey.[3] Subsequently, he caught the eye of both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid,[4] but as the former had practically secured his services,[5] manager Lucien Muller opposed to the transfer citing his team's lack of attacking options.[6]

In late May 1974, after Castellón's relegation, Clares finally joined Barcelona, as a direct replacement for Johan Cruyff as the foreign players were not allowed to participate in the Spanish Cup.[7] He finished top scorer of the knock-out competition with five goals in only six matches,[8] but the final ended 4–0 in favour of Real Madrid.[9]

During his four-year spell at the Camp Nou, Clares was regarded as a highly inconsistent player, capable of scoring wonderful goals but also of missing clear chances.[10] On 28 November 1976, he netted five of the Blaugrana goals in a 6–1 home demolition of Valencia CF,[11] for a total of 22 during the season.[9]

In July 1978, after the arrival of president Josep Lluís Núñez, and with him former coach Muller, Clares was transferlisted. He moved to Rayo Vallecano in October,[12] going on to be relatively played over a two-year tenure and retiring at the age of 32, even though he later returned for a spell in the lower divisions.[1]

International career

Clares won one cap for Spain: on 17 October 1973, he played 67 minutes in a 0–0 away friendly draw with Turkey.[13]

Honours

Barcelona

References

  1. 1 2 Relaño, Alfredo (3 January 2021). "Manuel Clares, el antecedente de Braithwaite" [Manuel Clares, he came before Braithwaite]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  2. ↑ Cabrera, A. (18 September 1972). "1–4: El Castellón se hundió al final" [1–4: Castellón sank near the end]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  3. ↑ Argudo, Javier. "Cuando el CD Castellón fue finalista de Copa" [When CD Castellón were Cup finalists] (in Spanish). Fútbol Retro. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  4. ↑ Casanovas, José María (27 June 1973). "El presidente del Castellón: "Sólo lo traspasaremos al Barcelona"" [Castellón's president: "We will only transfer him to Barcelona"] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  5. ↑ De las Heras, M. (16 July 1973). "Clarés fichará hoy por el Barcelona" [Clarés will sign for Barcelona today] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Zabalza, con un pie en Bilbao" [Zabalza, all but in Bilbao]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 5 September 1973. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  7. ↑ Díez Serrat, Xavier (25 May 1974). "Clares: "No estoy nervioso; sólo me preocupa que todo salga bien"" [Clares: "I am not nervous; I am only worried about making things work out right"]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  8. ↑ Gil, Sergio (28 June 1974). "Clares, el máximo goleador" [Clares, top scorer]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  9. 1 2 Canut, Lluís (16 June 2008). "Manolo marca ya" [Manolo score already]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  10. ↑ Domènech, Joan (20 May 1993). "La penya más especial se llama 'Fórum Manolo Clares'" [The most special supporters group is called 'Fórum Manolo Clares']. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  11. ↑ Poquí, Joan (4 October 2003). "Y Manolo marcó 5" [And Manolo scored 5]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  12. ↑ "Clares: "No será fácil olvidar estos años"" [Clares: "These years will be hard to forget"]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 11 October 1978. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "0–0: España se defendió sin ahogos ante Turquia" [0–0: Spain had no problem fending off Turkey]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 18 October 1973. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "Victoria clara en una final de poca categoría" [Clear win in final of little class]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 20 April 1978. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
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