José Miguel González Martín del Campo, known as Míchel (; born 23 March 1963), is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right midfielder, currently a manager.
He spent over a decade at Real Madrid, making 561 competitive appearances during his spell while scoring 130 goals. He won several titles with the club, including six La Liga championships and two UEFA Cups.
Míchel earned 66 caps for Spain from 1985 to 1992, and appeared for the nation in two World Cups (scoring four goals in the 1990 edition) and Euro 1988. He started working as a manager in 2005, notably leading Olympiacos to two Super League Greece accolades.
Club career The son of a footballer who had to retire from the game at 27 after a road accident, Míchel was born in Madrid and joined Real Madrid at the age of 13, his technique and physicality on the pitch quickly standing out. He moved quickly through the ranks to the first team, appearing – and scoring – once in the 1981–82 season, through a penalty in a 2–1 away win over Castellón on 11 April 1982.
A member of the renowned La Quinta del Buitre, which also featured Emilio Butragueño, Miguel Pardeza, Rafael Martín Vázquez and Manolo Sanchís, Míchel never played less than 31 La Liga matches from 1985 to 1994. After helping Castilla to the Segunda División title in 1984, he was instrumental in the capital club's conquests, which included six leagues and two consecutive UEFA Cups; he opened the score in the 1985 final of the latter competition, against Videoton.
In 1989, Míchel announced he would leave Real Madrid after having signed with an Italian side, but this never came to pass and he ended up staying until 1996. In his penultimate season, he suffered a severe knee injury which rendered him unavailable for several months, but still bounced back for a final solid year, after which he left for Atlético Celaya in Mexico – where Butragueño was also playing – shortly after the arrival at Madrid of president Lorenzo Sanz. He retired from football in 1997.
Míchel's career was not without incident: in 1988, he was hit by a bottle while on the pitch and, three years later, he was sanctioned by UEFA for using an unorthodox method of disrupting the concentration of Carlos Valderrama, in a game against Real Valladolid. The presiding judge in the case noted that "manipulating in public that of your neighbour which is a gift given exclusively to males by nature" violated a federation rule protecting a player's dignity.
International career Míchel made his debut for the Spain national team on 20 November 1985 against Austria, going on to appear in a further 65 internationals and score 21 goals (only missed a callup due to injury). He played in the 1986 and the 1990 FIFA World Cups, netting a hat-trick against South Korea in Spain's second fixture during the latter tournament (3–1, famously shouting "I've earned this" after his last goal) and also a penalty against Belgium in the country's final group match.
Shortly after Javier Clemente's arrival as national boss, Míchel was deemed surplus to requirements and never called again, although only 29. All national categories comprised, he received exactly 100 caps.
Style of play Míchel was best known for his stellar crossing ability, also contributing a fair share of goals. He was Real Madrid's all-time leading assist provider for several years.
Coaching career In the summer of 2005, after working as a sports commentator with RTVE after his retirement (still active, he had already worked in the capacity at the 1994 World Cup) and also writing articles for Madrid's Marca, Míchel was appointed manager of Rayo Vallecano. The following year he returned to his alma mater as director of Real Madrid's sports city, the entire youth system, and manager duties at Real Madrid Castilla, where he coached one of his sons, Adrián; under his management, the side dropped down a level into Segunda División B and he was sacked, also leaving his post in the youth sides due to disagreements with president Ramón Calderón.
On 27 April 2009, Míchel was appointed as coach of top-flight strugglers Getafe until the end of the season. He replaced former Barcelona midfielder Víctor Muñoz, and also managed Adrián, helping the club avoid relegation in the last matchday and renewing his contract for two more years the following week. He was relieved of his duties at the end of 2010–11, with the team again managing to stay afloat after finishing 16th, just one point clear of the relegation zone.
Míchel joined Sevilla on 6 February 2012, replacing the fired Marcelino García Toral and signing until the end of the season. On 14 January of the following year, after a 2–0 away loss to Valencia that left the Andalusians in 12th place, he was relieved of his duties.
Míchel moved to Olympiacos in the Super League Greece on 1 February 2013, on a contract until June 2015. In his first 18 months in charge, he won two national championships and the 2013 Greek Cup. He was fired on 6 January 2015, whilst the side was still competing in the Europa League and only a point behind PAOK in the domestic campaign.
On 19 August 2015, Míchel succeeded Marcelo Bielsa at the helm of Marseille. He was sacked the following 19 April due to concerns over his behaviour, with the team ranking 15th in Ligue 1.
Míchel became Málaga's third manager of the season on 7 March 2017, following Juande Ramos and Marcelo Romero. He signed until 30 June 2018 but, on 13 January of that year, with his team in last position, he was relieved of his duties.
On 20 May 2019, Míchel was appointed at Pumas UNAM of the Mexican Liga MX. He resigned from office on 23 July 2020, due to personal and family issues.
Míchel returned to Getafe on 27 May 2021, replacing Valencia-bound José Bordalás. Having gained just one point from eight games of the season, he was dismissed on 4 October.
On 21 September 2022, Míchel returned to Olympiacos after seven years away, replacing compatriot Carlos Corberán. He resigned on 3 April 2023 following a 2–2 draw with Aris Thessaloniki despite being 2–0 up 20 minutes from time; he had allegedly lost the confidence of the board of directors and supporters due to his difficulties in handling the pressure of mounting a title challenge.
On 27 October 2023, Míchel signed with Saudi First Division League club Al-Qadsiah. He promoted to the Pro League at the end of his first season and, in 2024–25, finished fourth while also reaching the final of the King's Cup.
On 14 December 2025, Míchel left the club by mutual agreement.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupLeague CupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsCastilla1981–82Segunda División36761———4281982–83Segunda División3554241——4381983–84Segunda División37139340——5016Total1082519681——13532Real Madrid1981–82La Liga1100—00—111982–83La Liga0000000000001983–84La Liga00000000—001984–85La Liga262206293—4371985–86La Liga3175000122—4891986–87La Liga44561—80—5861987–88La Liga351471—84—50191988–89La Liga361381—502151151989–90La Liga37860—32—46101990–91La Liga36820—612146101991–92La Liga381163—102—54161992–93La Liga37961—83—51131993–94La Liga371141—624051141994–95La Liga13200—50—1821995–96La Liga33611—8120448Total40497539628820102561130Celaya1996Liga MX1761997Liga MX173Total349 Career total54613172151438820102730171
International goals + # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 18 December 1985 Luis Casanova, Valencia, Spain 1–0 2–0 Friendly 2. 12 November 1986 Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain 1–0 1–0 Euro 1988 qualifying 3. 14 October 1987 Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain 1–0 (pen.) 2–0 Euro 1988 qualifying 4. 18 November 1987 Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain 3–0 (pen.) 5–0 Euro 1988 qualifying 5. 11 June 1988 Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany 0–1 2–3 UEFA Euro 1988 6. 14 September 1988 Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo, Spain 1–0 1–2 Friendly 7. 21 December 1988 Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain 3–0 (pen.) 4–0 1990 World Cup qualification 8. 22 January 1989 Ta' Qali, Attard, Malta 0–1 (pen.) 0–2 1990 World Cup qualification 9. 23 March 1989 Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain 1–0 4–0 1990 World Cup qualification 10. 2–0 (pen.) 11. 20 September 1989 Riazor, A Coruña, Spain 1–0 1–0 Friendly 12. 11 November 1989 Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary 0–2 2–2 1990 World Cup qualification 13. 13 December 1989 Heliodoro Rodríguez, Tenerife, Spain 1–0 (pen.) 2–1 Friendly 14. 17 June 1990 Friuli, Udine, Italy 1–0 3–1 1990 FIFA World Cup 15. 2–1 16. 3–1 17. 21 June 1990 Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona, Italy 0–1 (pen.) 1–2 1990 FIFA World Cup 18. 12 September 1990 El Molinón, Gijón, Spain 3–0 3–0 Friendly 19. 13 November 1991 Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain 2–1 (pen.) 2–1 Euro 1992 qualifying 20. 22 April 1992 Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain 1–0 3–0 1994 World Cup qualification 21. 2–0 (pen.)
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenureTeamNatFromToRecord Rayo Vallecano23 June 200516 June 2006Real Madrid B11 July 200618 June 2007Getafe27 April 20098 June 2011Sevilla6 February 201214 January 2013Olympiacos4 February 20136 January 2015 Marseille 19 August 201519 April 2016Málaga7 March 201713 January 2018 UNAM16 May 201923 July 2020Getafe27 May 20214 October 2021Olympiacos20 September 20223 April 2023 Al-Qadsiah27 October 202314 December 2025Total —
Honours Player Real Madrid La Liga: 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1994–95 Copa del Rey: 1988–89, 1992–93 Supercopa de España: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993 Copa de la Liga: 1985 UEFA Cup: 1984–85, 1985–86 Copa Iberoamericana: 1994
Spain Under-21 UEFA Under-21 European Championship runner-up: 1984
Manager Olympiacos Super League Greece: 2012–13, 2013–14 Greek Football Cup: 2012–13
Al-Qadsiah Saudi First Division League: 2023–24
Individual La Liga Spanish Player of the Year: 1986 European Cup top scorer: 1987–88 FIFA World Cup Bronze Boot: 1990 Ballon d'Or: 1987 (4th place) World XI: 1990
See also List of La Liga players (400+ appearances) List of Real Madrid CF records and statistics
References
External links
Stats at Medio Tiempo