Guti

Jose Gutierrez

Full Name: José Maria Gutierrez Hernandez
Birth Date: October 31, 1976
Height: 1.85m
Weight: 76 kg
Nationality: Spain
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 14

As a child Guti was interested in tennis and books on sports. He began playing for Real Madrid in 1994 in the Cantera. He set goal scoring records there that have yet to be broken. In 1995 he was called up to the U-18 and won the Eurocup with them. The same year he debuted for the senior side on December 21st against Seville, Real Madrid won 4-1. He finished the season off with 1 goal in 9 appearances. Then in 1997 Guti added two trophies to his cabinet, La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. He only played 17 games that season and scored 1 goal as well. Guti was again called upon to help the U-21 side lift the Eurocup in 1998. This capped off a brilliant season with Madrid as well after they won the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup. In 2000 Guti helped Madrid tremedously when they raised the UEFA Champions League Cup, he scored 6 goals in 28 games. The following year he had his best scoring season for Madrid, 14 goals in 31 games. The goals contributed to Madrid's 27th league title and Spanish Super Cup. After the purchase of Ronaldo, Guti was placed in the midfield and his goalscoring rate went down drastically. He only scored 4 goals in 29 games, followed by 4 goals in 34 games. Along with the goals came another UEFA Champions League Cup, UEFA Supercup, and Intercontinental Cup. Then in 2003, he won the League and Spanish Super Cup. 2004 was Guti's worst season in terms of goal scoring, as he failed to score for the first time in seven seasons with the first team. In 2005/2006, he played 43 games and had 6 goals(4 in Spanish league& 2 in Champion League) With the election of Ramon Calderon as President of the club and his subsequent vow to bring AC Milan's Brazilian star Kaka to Real Madrid, Guti's future at the Bernabeu appeared insecure. He was linked with a move away from the Merengues, and cross-town rivals Atlético Madrid showed a keen interest in getting his services. In the end, Guti decided to stay with Real while Kaka stayed with AC Milan. Real Madrid's new coach, Fabio Capello, well aware of Guti's playmaking abilities, has placed more trust on the Real Madrid fan favourite. Capello declared that Guti would be the team's playmaker. During the early part of the 2006-07 season, Guti's threat as a creative playmaker for Real Madrid's strikeforce led to his being singled out for rough treatment by opposition players. Most notably, against Atlético Madrid in late September, he was fouled repeatedly and had to be substituted in the second half due to an ankle injury. Guti is married and has also recently became a father.