Monchi

Monchi
Personal information
Full name Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo
Date of birth (1968-09-20) 20 September 1968
Place of birth San Fernando, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Youth career
Sevilla
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1990 Sevilla B 37 (0)
1990–1999 Sevilla 85 (0)
Total 122 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Rodríguez and the second or maternal family name is Verdejo.

Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo (born 20 September 1968), commonly known as Monchi, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and the current director of football of Sevilla FC.

Playing career

Born in San Fernando, Cádiz, Andalusia, Monchi graduated from Sevilla FC's youth system. He made his senior debut with the reserves in the 1988–89 season, in Segunda División B.

In the 1990 summer, Monchi was promoted to the main squad in La Liga. He first appeared in the competition on 13 January 1991, starting in a 1–1 away draw against Real Sociedad.[1]

Monchi spent the vast majority of his career as a backup to Juan Carlos Unzué, only featuring more regularly from 1995 onwards. He played a career-best 26 matches in 1996–97, in a campaign that ended in relegation.

Monchi retired in 1999 aged only 30, after contributing with 20 games – playoffs included – to his team's promotion.[2]

Post-retirement

In 2000, after Sevilla got relegated from the top division, Monchi was appointed its director of football.[3] He was given two objectives by the board: develop the club's youth system and implement a vast scouting policy inside and outside Spain.

Monchi clearly shone in both tasks, as a big number of wonderkids came through the Rojiblancos youth setup (notably Diego Capel, Alberto Moreno, Jesús Navas, Antonio Puerta, Sergio Ramos and José Antonio Reyes),[4] and he also created a network of over 700 scouts around the world. Within this setup, he also helped the club discover a number of profittable bargains (including Adriano, Dani Alves, Júlio Baptista, Federico Fazio, Seydou Keita and Ivan Rakitić),[5] and helped it establish in the top half of the top division in the subsequent decades, making a profit of around €200 million.[6]

Monchi asked to be relieved of his duties in the 2016 off-season,[7][8] but the board of directors did not accept his request unless he paid his €5 million buyout clause.[9][10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Saez, Felix (14 January 1991). "La Real no pasó del empate" [Real could get nothing more than a draw]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  2. ↑ Jensen, Pete (20 October 2015). "Who needs Moneyball if you have Monchi?". The Independent. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  3. ↑ Stamp, Alex (19 December 2008). "The mastery of "Monchi": The power behind Sevilla's throne". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Lowe, Sid (17 May 2016). "The secret behind Sevilla's success? Meet Monchi, the transfer wizard". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Platt, Oliver (23 October 2014). "Meet Monchi – the man who discovered Dani Alves and is attracting Barcelona". Goal.com. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  6. ↑ Hunter, Graham (11 August 2014). "Monchi: The man who made Sevilla". ESPN FC. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Florido, Eduardo; Ortega, F.J. (31 May 2016). "Bomba en Nervión: Monchi decide irse" [Bomb at Nervión: Monchi decides to leave]. Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  8. ↑ "Monchi confirms Sevilla exit". Football Italia. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Florido, Eduardo (1 June 2016). "Monchi se queda a la fuerza" [Monchi is forced to stay]. Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  10. ↑ Fernández, Alberto (3 June 2016). "Monchi: "No pedí salir por tener 15 ofertas, sino para descansar y coger aire fresco"" [Monchi: "I did not ask to leave because I had 15 offers, but to rest and take a breather"]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 July 2016.
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