Eleuterio Santos Explained

Eleuterio Santos Brito (9 November 1940 – 28 January 2008) was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder.

He spent the vast majority of his professional career with Real Zaragoza, appearing in 280 official games and scoring 96 goals.^[1]

Club career

Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Santos started playing with local CD Tenerife. He signed for Real Zaragoza in March 1963, going on to spend nine of his ten seasons with the club in La Liga and being part of an attacking frontline dubbed Los Magníficos, which also featured Canário, Carlos Lapetra, Marcelino and Juan Manuel Villa.^{[2] [3]}

Nicknamed Yeyo, Santos retired in 1975 aged 35 following a spell with CD Tudelano of Tercera División.^[4]

International career

Santos earned one cap for Spain, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 away friendly draw against Sweden on 2 May 1968.^{[5] [4]}

Death

Santos died in his hometown on 28 January 2008 at age 67, after a long battle with illness.^[6]

Honours

Tenerife

• Segunda División

1960–61^[7]

Zaragoza

• Copa del Generalísimo

1963–64,^[8] 1965–66^[9]

• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

1963–64^[10]

Notes and References

1. News: Fallece Eleuterio Santos, el '8' de los Magníficos. Death of Eleuterio Santos, '8' of the Magnificent. Diario AS. Pedro Luis. Ferrer. es. 29 January 2008. 19 November 2024.
2. News: Muere Santos, uno de los "cinco magníficos" del Zaragoza. Death of Santos, one of Zaragoza's "magnificent five". El País. es. 28 January 2008. 25 June 2013.
3. News: Los años Magníficos. The Magnificent years. Heraldo de Aragón. Miguel. Gay. es. 23 April 2014. 27 April 2018.
4. Web site: Santos, uno de los ‘Cinco magníficos’. Santos, one of the 'Five magnificent'. CD Tenerife. es. 13 April 2020. 4 December 2024.
5. News: 1–1: Prometedora actuación de la selección española a una semana del encuentro contra Inglaterra. 1–1: Promising performance by the Spanish national team one week away from the match against England. Mundo Deportivo. Matías. Prats. es. 3 May 1968. 27 April 2018.
6. News: Fallece Eleuterio Santos, jugador de "Los Cinco Magníficos" del Zaragoza. Death of Eleuterio Santos, part of Zaragoza's "Magnificent Five". El Periódico de Aragón. es. 28 January 2008. 25 June 2013.
7. News: Se va el ‘Magnífico’ Santos. 'Magnificent' Santos goes away. Atlántico Hoy. Luis. Padilla. es. 11 March 2018. 19 November 2024.
8. News: R. Zaragoza, 2 – At. de Madrid, 1. Mundo Deportivo. Luis. Lainz. es. 6 July 1964. 19 November 2024.
9. News: El Zaragoza conquistó brillantemente la Copa de S.E.. Zaragoza won the S.E. Cup brilliantly. Mundo Deportivo. Nivardo. Pina. es. 30 May 1966. 19 November 2024.
10. News: El Real Zaragoza, campeón de la Copa de Ferias en 1964. Real Zaragoza, Fairs Cup champions in 1964. Heraldo de Aragón. es. 25 June 2014. 19 November 2024.