José Manuel 'Pepe' Mejías López (born 21 January 1959) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Manuel Mejías López | ||
| Date of birth | 21 January 1959 | ||
| Place of birth | Cádiz, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Cádiz | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1977 | Cádiz B | ||
| 1977–1986 | Cádiz | 248 | (61) |
| 1977–1978 | → Jerez Industrial (loan) | ||
| 1986–1988 | Zaragoza | 60 | (8) |
| 1988–1989 | Murcia | 39 | (9) |
| 1989–1990 | Rayo Vallecano | 21 | (3) |
| 1990–1992 | Cádiz | 56 | (6) |
| 1992–1993 | Elche | 38 | (11) |
| 1993–1994 | San Fernando | ||
| 1994–1995 | Conil | ||
| Total | 462 | (98) | |
| International career | |||
| 1985 | Spain U21 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
His career was closely associated to Cádiz, for which he appeared in 304 games both major levels of Spanish football combined, scoring 66 goals.
In La Liga, Mejía also represented Zaragoza, Murcia and Rayo Vallecano, totalling 263 matches and 42 goals in the competition over ten seasons.
Club career
editBorn in Cádiz, Andalusia, Mejías spent most of his 19-year senior career with Cádiz CF. After starting out with the reserves he was loaned to neighbouring amateurs Jerez Industrial CF, returning in January 1978 and going on to remain with his main club a further eight full seasons; he made his La Liga debut on 9 April 1978, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–4 home loss against RCD Español.[1]
During his first spell, Mejías constantly alternated between the top division and the Segunda División, promoting three times to the former and being relegated to the latter in 1982 and 1984.[2] In the 1982–83 campaign he scored a career-best 15 goals, helping the Gaditanos return to the top flight.[3]
Mejías left Cádiz in the summer of 1986, joining fellow league side Real Zaragoza. He continued to compete at that level the following years, with Real Murcia (also started 1989–90 with the club in the second tier) and Rayo Vallecano; he appeared with the first in the 1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup, netting once in seven games – the 2–0 away victory over Vitosha Sofia[4]– to help the Aragonese team reach the semi-finals.
After two more seasons with Cádiz in division two, 33-year-old Mejías retired from professional football and moved to the lower leagues, retiring three years later.
Personal life
editMejías' younger brother, Salvador, was also a footballer. They coincided in several teams during their careers.[5]
References
edit- ^ Sanchis, Alberto (10 April 1978). "2–4: Dos positivos de oro para el Español" [2–4: Two golden positives for Español]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ García, Sergio (22 November 2016). "Especialistas en descensos. Cap. 1: La Liga" [Specialists in relegations. Chap. 1: La Liga]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 September 2018.
- ^ "3–1: ¡Carranza fue una fiesta!" [3–1: Party at Carranza!]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 23 May 1983. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ^ Andrés, Mariano (19 March 1987). "0–2: ¡El Zaragoza, a lo grande!" [0–2: Zaragoza, in style!]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ Funcia, Carlos (23 November 1984). "Los hermanos Mejías, la alegría del Cádiz" [The Mejías brothers, the joy of Cádiz]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 September 2018.
External links
edit- Pepe Mejías at BDFutbol
- Stats at Cadistas1910 (in Spanish)