Rafael Carlos Pérez González (born 23 July 1948), known as Marañón, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker.
 Marañón in 1970 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rafael Carlos Pérez González[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 23 July 1948[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Olite, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1966–1967 | Oberena | ||
| 1967–1968 | Real Madrid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1968–1974 | Real Madrid | 47 | (5) |
| 1968–1969 | → Ontinyent (loan) | 27 | (15) |
| 1969–1970 | → Sporting Gijón (loan) | 31 | (16) |
| 1974–1983 | Español | 261 | (110) |
| 1983–1985 | Sabadell | 67 | (19) |
| Total | 433 | (165) | |
| International career | |||
| 1977–1978 | Spain | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Even though he started out at Real Madrid, his career was mainly associated with Español. Over the course of 13 seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 308 games and 115 goals.[2]
Marañón appeared with Spain at the 1978 World Cup.
Club career
editBorn in Olite, Navarre, Marañón arrived in the Real Madrid youth system at the age of 19, making his professional debut with Ontinyent CF in the Segunda División, on loan (a similar move occurred in the following season with Sporting de Gijón).[3] He joined Real's first team permanently in 1970, but never imposed himself at the club during his four-year spell, appearing in a maximum of 19 La Liga games in the 1973–74 campaign.[4]
Marañón's sporting fate changed in summer 1974, as he signed with RCD Español.[4] After two slow seasons, he would never score in single digits again, also playing European competition with the Catalan side, being awarded captaincy and reaching the national team.[5][6][2]
Marañón retired in 1985 at the age of 37, seeing out his career at neighbouring CE Sabadell FC and helping them to promote to the second tier in his debut campaign.[7][8] He was Español's top scorer in the main division with a total of 111 goals; his record would stand for 24 years until another club legend, Raúl Tamudo, broke it on 9 June 2007 in a 2–2 away draw against FC Barcelona.[9]
International career
editCapping off his best season at Español – 22 goals, good enough for joint-second behind Valencia CF's Mario Kempes, as the team nearly qualified for Europe[10]– Marañón made his debut for Spain, appearing in a 1–1 friendly with Hungary in Alicante on 27 March 1977.[11] Subsequently, he was included in the 1978 FIFA World Cup squad but did not play in the finals, earning four caps in one year.[12][13]
Post-retirement
editWhile still a player at Sabadell, Marañón majored in architecture.[5] He later obtained his PhD by writing a thesis on Rafael Masó i Valentí, and served as an advisor during the construction of Espanyol's sports city.[14][8]
Honours
editSporting Gijón
Real Madrid
Sabadell
References
edit- 1 2 Marañón at WorldFootball.net
- 1 2 Rafael MARAÑÓN; Hall of Fame Perico, 21 May 2009 (in Spanish)
- ↑ Qué fue de... Rafael Marañón: leyenda del Espanyol (What happened to... Rafael Marañón: Espanyol legend); 20 minutos, 29 August 2019 (in Spanish)
- 1 2 Rafa Marañón: "El Espanyol es el único histórico sin título de Liga todavía y que lucha contra un entorno político y mediático hostil" (Rafa Marañón: "Espanyol is the only historic without a League title yet and is fighting against a hostile political and media environment"); El Mundo, 26 October 2025 (in Spanish)
- 1 2 3 4 Rafa Marañón, olfato de goleador (Rafa Marañón, scoring touch); Marca, 14 August 2016 (in Spanish)
- ↑ Marañón: “Lo más difícil sale siempre luchando contra lo imposible” (Marañón: "The most difficult things are always overcome from fighting against the impossible"); La Vanguardia, 22 March 2020 (in Spanish)
- 1 2 Els ascensos a Segona Divisió del Centre d'Esports: 1984 (Centre d'Esports' promotions to Segunda División: 1984); Ràdio Sabadell, 16 July 2020 (in Catalan)
- 1 2 Rafa Marañón: "El fútbol es como una herida que te deja una marca, no te lo quitas nunca" (Rafa Marañón: "Football is like a wound that leaves a mark, you never get rid of it"); El Periódico, 25 January 2026 (in Spanish)
- ↑ Tamudo: ¡el polvo del siglo! (Tamudo: the shag of the century!); Diario AS, 10 June 2007 (in Spanish)
- ↑ El ‘pichichi’ de Marañón que se extravió por el camino (Marañón's 'pichichi' that got lost along the way); Diario AS, 10 April 2020 (in Spanish)
- ↑ La selección española regresa a Alicante tras 10 años de ausencia (The Spanish national team return to Alicante after a 10-year absence); Diario Información, 8 October 2011 (in Spanish)
- ↑ La Selección Española también ha dado profesores y alumnos: te mostramos 10 ejemplos (The Spanish national team have also produced teachers and students: here are 10 examples); Royal Spanish Football Federation, 25 November 2016 (in Spanish)
- ↑ Pickel y los 12+1 Mundiales del Espanyol (Pickel and Espanyol 12+1 World Cups); Diario AS, 26 June 2026 (in Spanish)
- ↑ Rafa Marañón, el arquitecto del gol (Rafa Marañón, the goal architect); La Nueva España, 20 April 2011 (in Spanish)
- ↑ Cuando el Sporting ascendió a Primera con la pareja de delanteros de la Selección: "Es uno de los mejores rematadores que he visto" (When Sporting promoted to Primera with the national team's strikers duo: "He's one of the best finishers I've ever seen"); Relevo, 12 June 2024 (in Spanish)