José Zalazar

Infobox Football biography
playername = José Luis Zalazar

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fullname = José Luis Zalazar Rodríguez
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1963|10|26|mf=y
cityofbirth = flagicon|Uruguay Montevideo
countryofbirth = Uruguay
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height = 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
nickname = "El Oso"; "Cabeza"
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1982-1986 1986-1987 1987-1988 1988-1989 1989-1990 1990-1996 1996-1997 1997 1997 1998-1999
clubs = Peñarol UAG Tecos Cádiz UAG Tecos Espanyol Albacete Racing Santander Nacional Bella Vista Albacete
caps(goals) = ? (23) 33 (6) ? (30)Verify source|date=July 2007 16 (1) 218 (72) 39 (4) ? (1) 13 (3) 12 (0)
nationalyears = 1984-1993
nationalteam = Uruguay
nationalcaps(goals) = 29 (3)

José Luis Zalazar Rodríguez (born October 26, 1963) is a retired football midfielder from Uruguay, who played the majority of his career in Spain between several clubs, most notably Albacete Balompié, and was a member of the Uruguay national team.

Zalazar, nicknamed "El Oso" ("the bear"), was born in Montevideo. He started his career at local club C.A. Peñarol in 1982. In 1986, after the World Cup, he joined Mexican club "Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara" where in his first year, he was the highest goalscorer of the tournament with 23 goals. He then moved to Spain, where he played with Cádiz CF one season, before returning to Mexico for the 1988-1989 season, again with "Tecos".

In 1989, Zalazar travelled to Spain again, this time to play with RCD Espanyol for one year, before joining Albacete, where he would have his most successful period, playing six seasons and being part of the squad known as "Queso Mecánico" ("Mechanic Cheese"). He arrived to Albacete for the Second Division 1990-91 season, during which the team earned promotion to First Division, due in part to two crucial goals scored by him against UD Salamanca.Source: es icon http://www.fortunecity.com/olympia/wagner/321/zalaromm/zalazar.htm] During the 1991-92 season, Zalazar played in all 38 league matches, and scored 13 goals, helping Albacete not only to remain in "Primera", but to finish in seventh place, the highest position ever reached by the club. The Uruguayan's performance in the 1991-92 season earned him the "EFE Trophy", which is awarded by Spanish news agency EFE to the best Ibero-American player in "La Liga" every year. [http://www.efe.com/premios/trofeo/principal.asp?opcion=11&seccion=111 EFE Trophy winners] - efe.com - Agencia EFE S.A., Spain. Retrieved February 27, 2007.] During his career at Albacete, Zalazar also became the club's all-time leader in first division appearances, with 180 matches, [es icon cite web | url=http://www.lfp.es/publicaciones/lfp2001.pdf | author=LFP.es | publisher="LFP"| title="Memoria de La Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, Temporada 2000/2001" | accessdate=2007-02-27] and goals, with 57. [Source: http://idd00939.eresmas.net/futbol/albacete.htm]

After Albacete was relegated back to "Segunda División" in the 1995-96 season, Zalazar left the club, playing then one season (1996-97) for Racing de Santander. The following year, he returned to Uruguay, playing the 1997 "Apertura" tournament for Nacional and the "Clausura" for Bella Vista. He then retired briefly, before going back to Spain, where he managed to re-join the Albacete squad for the 1998-99 season, during which he helped the team avoid relegation from "Segunda".

Zalazar obtained a total of 29 international caps for the Uruguay national team. Having made his official international debut on June 13, 1984 against England (a 2-0 win), he was part of the Uruguayan squad at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, making his only appearance of the tournament during the second half of a first round 1-6 loss to Denmark. He played six matches during the 1994 World Cup qualification process, which were his last matches representing Uruguay.

Zalazar played as an attacking midfielder (or playmaker), and was notable for his strong and accurate right foot shot, as demonstrated by his several goals from long distance, particularly from free kicks.

References

External links

* [http://www.tenfieldigital.com.uy/servlet/hprfchsj?0,2,2%2F43%2F,1,1366 Player profile and detail of international appearances]