José Emilio Amavisca

José Emilio Amavisca Gárate (born 19 June 1971) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left winger or a second striker.

He was best known for his Real Madrid stint but played for five other clubs, amassing 381 matches and 57 goals across both major levels of Spanish football over 16 seasons (307 games and 34 goals in La Liga).

A Spanish international in the 1990s, Amavisca represented the country at Euro 1996.

Club career Born in Laredo, Cantabria, Amavisca (whose father Emilio was also a footballer) made his professional breakthrough with Real Valladolid, achieving promotion from Segunda División in 1992–93 and previously serving a spell on loan to Lleida in the same level. In summer 1994, he signed for La Liga giants Real Madrid, initially being deemed surplus to requirements but going on to score ten league goals in his debut season, mostly playing second striker to Iván Zamorano – both were initially seen as third or fourth-string attacking references by manager Jorge Valdano, as the club ended a five-year domestic title drought.

Amavisca's importance with the Merengues would gradually lessen in the subsequent years, however, with coach Guus Hiddink not even including him in matchday squads when he was short of the 18 players to complete it. In January 1999, he joined fellow top-flight Racing de Santander, thus returning to his native region, and instantly became an essential member of the side, although his seven goals in the 2000–01 campaign were not enough to avoid relegation.

Subsequently, Amavisca moved to Deportivo de La Coruña for 300 million pesetas, He retired at the end of 2004–05 with Espanyol, aged 34. He was picked for the tournament's finals in England, making three appearances in an eventual quarter-final exit.

Due to having fallen out of favour at Real Madrid, Amavisca was overlooked for the squad at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The penultimate of his 15 internationals

Career statistics Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 26 April 1995 Hrazdan, Yerevan, Armenia 0–1 0–2 Euro 1996 qualifying

Honours Laredo Tercera División: 1988–89

Real Madrid La Liga: 1994–95, 1996–97 UEFA Champions League: 1997–98

Spain U23 Summer Olympic Games: 1992