| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Spain
| ||
| Men's Football | ||
 |
1992 Barcelona | Team Competition |
Roberto Solozábal Villanueva (born 15 September 1969) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central defender.
He appeared in 273 La Liga games over 11 seasons, representing in the competition Atlético Madrid and Betis.[1]
A product of local Atlético Madrid's youth system, Madrid-born Solozábal represented the first team from 1989 to 1997, his debut being on 2 September in a 3–1 away win against Valencia CF (90 minutes played). Other than his first season – ten appearances – he never played less than 18 La Liga games during his eight-year spell.
During the 1995–96 campaign, Solózabal formed a solid centre-back partnership with another Colchonero youth graduate, Juan Manuel López, as the capital side achieved an historic double, with the former featuring in 40 league matches.[2]
After leaving Atlético, Solozábal signed with Real Betis.[3] In his last season, where the Andalusian club was relegated and he was ousted from the squad for allegedly organising a riot, he ultimately took it to court for lack of payment in a suit which lasted several years, with the player having already retired.[4][5]
Solozábal was captain of the Spanish side that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona,[6] and also earned 12 full caps in two years,[1] the first coming on 17 April 1991 in a 0–2 friendly loss to Romania, in Cáceres.[7]
Solozábal's second son Hugo was also a professional footballer. The oldest, Iker (born 2001), was a triathlete.[8][9]
Atlético Madrid
Spain U23
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