Antonio Manuel 'Manu' Sánchez Gómez (born 25 January 1979) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central midfielder.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Antonio Manuel Sánchez Gómez | ||
| Date of birth | (1979-01-25) 25 January 1979 (age 43) | ||
| Place of birth | Fuengirola, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Real Madrid | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–1999 | Real Madrid C | ||
| 1998–2001 | Real Madrid B | 68 | (9) |
| 2002–2007 | Málaga | 97 | (7) |
| 2007–2008 | Hércules | 10 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Antequera | 10 | (1) |
| Total | 185 | (17) | |
| National team | |||
| 1997 | Spain U17 | 4 | (2) |
| 1997–1998 | Spain U18 | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Sánchez was born in Fuengirola, Province of Málaga. He came through the ranks of Real Madrid but never made it past the reserves. He was however included in Real's squad for the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship.[1] He joined local Málaga CF in January 2002, being relatively used over five and a half seasons.
Manu's best output came in the 2002–03 campaign, with six La Liga goals in 36 appearances – including a brace against Athletic Bilbao on 9 March 2003 for a 3–0 home win[2][3][4][5][6]– with Málaga finishing 13th. Previously, he had helped the Andalusia team reach the UEFA Cup via the success in the Intertoto Cup.
In the summer of 2007, after having appeared in only three Segunda División games during the season, Sánchez signed with fellow league side Hércules CF, being released at the end of the campaign after playing in just ten out of 42 possible matches. In early 2009 he joined lowly Antequera CF in a return to his native region, with the club being eventually relegated to Tercera División.
Málaga