Txema Alonso

José María "Txema" Alonso Fernández (born 29 April 1971) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as either a central defender or a defensive midfielder.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Alonso and the second or maternal family name is Fernández.
Txema Alonso
Personal information
Full name José María Alonso Fernández
Date of birth (1971-04-29) 29 April 1971
Place of birth Bilbao, Spain
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre back / Defensive midfielder
Youth career
Indautxu
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1995 Lleida 204 (16)
1995–2003 Racing Santander 161 (4)
2002–2003 → Getafe (loan) 15 (0)
2003–2006 Lleida 86 (3)
Total 466 (23)
International career
1991–1992 Spain U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He amassed La Liga totals of 183 matches and five goals during seven seasons, in representation of Lleida and Racing de Santander. He added 221 games and 11 goals in Segunda División, where he also featured for both clubs.

Club career

Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Txema's professional career was closely associated to UE Lleida, which he represented in all three major levels of Spanish football. He contributed with 35 games and three goals in the 1992–93 season as the team returned to La Liga after a 42-year absence, and made his debut in the competition on 5 September 1993 by starting in a 0–1 away loss against CD Tenerife.[1]

Txema signed for Racing de Santander in the summer of 1995, being first-choice in his first four years but mainly a backup afterwards. In the 2001–02 campaign, he played only 12 matches to help the Cantabrians finish second behind Atlético Madrid and subsequently return to the top flight.

Aged 32, Txema returned to his main club for 2003–04, after a loan stint at Getafe CF,[2] and immediately helped them achieve promotion to the second tier. He retired at the end of the 2005–06 season, which finished in relegation.

Personal life

Txema's father José María (a forward who played for several clubs in the second tier)[3] and elder brother Kike (a midfielder who mainly competed in the third tier)[4] were also footballers – the siblings faced off once in the league, in 1990, and three times in the Copa del Rey, including part of a memorable underdog run by CD Numancia in the 1995–96 season.[5]

After his retirement, Txema worked in the sports department of the Lleida city council.[6][7]

Honours

Lleida

References
  1. "Agustín frena a un buen Lleida" [Agustín stops a good Lleida]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 6 September 1993. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  2. "Yosu podría llamar a Txema para la Intertoto" [Yosu could call Txema to the Intertoto]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 16 July 2003. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  3. "Alonso: José María Alonso Pérez". BDFutbol. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  4. "Kike Alonso: Enrique Alonso Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  5. Jordi Batalla (1 February 2021). "La leyenda del Numancia cumple 25 años" [The Numancia legend turns 25]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  6. "El Ayuntamiento de Lleida instala desfibriladores en las piscinas municipales" [Lleida City Council installs defibrillators in municipal pools] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 13 June 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  7. "Txema Alonso Fernández" (in Catalan). Paeria. Archived from the original on 30 November 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
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