Fernando Hierro
Full name Fernando Ruiz Hierro
Date of birth March 23, 1968 (1968-03-23)
Place of birth Vélez-Málaga, Spain
Height 1.87 m
Playing position Centre back
Defensive Midfielder
Youth clubs
1980-1987 Vélez-Málaga
Senior clubs:
1987-1989 Real Valladolid
1989-2003 Real Madrid
2003-2004 Al Rayyan
2004-2005 Bolton Wanderers
National team
1989-2002 Spain
Fernando Ruiz Hierro (born March 23, 1968 in Vélez-Málaga) is a former Spanish footballer. He is most famous as a member of Real Madrid and Spain, for whom he played as a defender, and sometimes as a defensive midfielder. At his peak, Hierro's ability to combine solid defensive play with a near-unlimited passing range made him one of the world's most sought-after players.
Club career
With Real Madrid, Hierro won the La Liga championship five times and the UEFA Champions League three times: 1998, 2000, and 2002. He paired with Manuel Sanchís in central defense for several years and was the primary captain of the club after the retirement of Sanchís.
He was released by Real Madrid at the end of the 2002-03 season under rather unceremonious circumstances and without the fanfare normally accorded to a player of his stature at the club. Hierro then chose a lucrative move to the wealthy but developing middle east football industry. After playing for one year for Qatar club Al Rayyan, Hierro returned to Europe for the 2004-05 season, signing with English Premiership side Bolton Wanderers on the advice of his English team-mate at Real Madrid, Steve McManaman. He announced his retirement after one season in England and finished playing football on May 15th 2005. Hierro had made a great impact at Bolton playing in an anchor midfield role and consigning compatriot Ivan Campo to bench duty and manager Sam Allardyce would have loved him to stay on but Hierro had made up his mind to hang up his boots.
National team career
Hierro has been capped 89 times for Spain, second only to Raúl González as a Spanish outfield player, and has scored 29 goals, again second only to Raúl. He played in the 1994, 1998, and 2002 World Cups, as well as Euro 96 and Euro 2000. He is one of only three Spanish players to have scored in three different World Cups. He was selected for the FIFA All Star team in 2002, and chosen UEFA Best Defender in 1998.
He played in qualifying matches for the 1990 World Cup and the Euro 92, but did not appear in any of those final tournaments. During the 1994 World Cup qualification, he headed the winning goal against Denmark that allowed Spain to qualify for the final tournament in the USA. In the World Cup finals, he scored on an individual play against Switzerland in second round, before his team was eliminated by Italy in quarterfinals.
At the time of the 2002 World Cup, he was the leading goalscorer for the Spanish national team. He retired from the national team in 2002 and was replaced as captain by Raúl.
HONOURS
Club
Real Madrid
La Liga: 1990, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003
Copa del Rey: 1993
Spanish Super Cup: 1990, 1993, 1997, 2001
Champion's League: 1998, 2000, 2002
European Super Cup: 2002
World Club Championship: 1998, 2002
Al Rayyan
Emir of Qatar Cup: 2004
Individual
UEFA Best Defender: 1998
FIFA World Cup 2002 All-Star Team Defender: 2002
TRIVIA
His brother Manuel, also a footballer, played for FC Barcelona. Manuel became the coach of Málaga CF in 2006, when the team was relegated to Segunda División.
Now he is sports director of a national team of Spain.
