Fernando Quirarte

Fernando Quirarte Gutíerrez (born May 17, 1956 in Guadalajara , State of Jalisco ) is a former Mexican soccer player who was mostly used as a central defender and who worked almost exclusively for his hometown club Chivas Guadalajara . After his playing career, "el Sheriff", as his nickname is, also worked as a coach.

Career

Fernando Quirarte played since childhood in the youth teams of the Club Deportivo "Chivas" Guadalajara and made the leap into the first team during the 1976/77 season.

Over the course of his career, Quirarte became one of the most important players on his team and a fan idol. His achievements were so outstanding that his famous predecessor in this position from the “Campeonísimo” era, Guillermo Sepúlveda , described him as his “worthy successor” and was full of praise for him: “He is an outstanding player in his position, who keeps calm and an overview even in difficult situations and also instills trust in his fellow players and drives them on. "

The fact that Fernando Quirarte played all of the Mexican national team's games in their own country at the 1986 World Cup proves that these words were not exaggerated . He not only demonstrated his organizational talent for defense, which was largely responsible for the fact that Mexico only conceded two goals in the five games, but he also demonstrated an offensive strength that was unusual for a central defender. It was he who scored the first goal for the Mexicans at this World Cup against the opening opponent Belgium (final result 2-1) and he also scored the decisive winner in the last group game to make it 1-0 against the newcomer Iraq . Nevertheless, he was ultimately one of the tragic heroes, because he failed in the quarter-finals in the 1: 4 defeat on penalties against Germany with his penalty against the German goalkeeper Toni Schumacher and was thus jointly responsible for the elimination of the Mexicans.

Fernando Quirarte made 45 appearances for his country and scored five goals. During his active playing career he worked almost exclusively for the Club Deportivo Guadalajara, with which he won the championship in the 1986/87 season; it was the club's first title since 1970, when its great “Campeonísimo” era came to an end. Only in his last season, 1989/90, did the "Sheriff" slip on the jersey of the professional football team of the neighboring Universidad de Guadalajara .

After the end of his active career, Quirarte worked as a coach for various clubs and as an assistant coach for the Mexican Football Association.

successes

• Mexican champion : 1986/87

Web links

• ¡Gracias a todos, campeones! - unofficial fan page ( memento from June 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (Spanish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ¡Gracias a todos, campeones! - unofficial fan page ( memento from June 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive )