Vavá II

Vavá II
Personal information
Full name	Luciano Sánchez García
Date of birth	28 May 1944 (age 80)
Place of birth	Béjar, Spain
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
	Béjar Industrial
Senior career*
Years	Team
1963–1964	Deportivo Ilicitano
1964–1973	Elche
1973–1974	Deportivo de La Coruña
1974–1976	Melilla
1976–1977	Mérida Industrial
1977–1979	Don Benito
Total
International career
1966–1969	Spain
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Luciano Sánchez García (28 May 1944), known as Vavá II, is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a forward.

Club career

As a youngster, Luciano gave himself the nickname Vavá II, due to his admiration for the Brazilian striker, he began his career with his hometown team, CD Béjar Industrial. In 1963 he signed for Elche CF, although the first season he played for the reserve team, Deportivo Ilicitano, in Segunda División.

He made his debut on Primera División on 18 October 1964, in a match against UD Las Palmas in which he scored a goal. In 1965, he played a friendly match for FC Barcelona. The following year, the 1965/66 season, he was the top scorer in the Spanish League, with nineteen goals, making him the only player in the history of Elche CF to have won the Pichichi Trophy. A few months later, he also became the first Elche player to wear the Spain national team shirt. In 1969 he was runner-up in the Copa del Rey, the greatest sporting success in the history of Elche CF. In the final, Athletic Bilbao won 1-0 and Vavá played the entire match.

Despite losing the category in the 1970/71 season, he continued to play for Elche in Segunda División. For the 1973/74 season he signed for Deportivo de La Coruña, where he played for one season. In 1974 he retired from professional football, and he played for Melilla CF, Mérida Industrial and Don Benito for the following seasons until 1979, when he ultimately retired.^[1]

International career

In the Spain national team, he played two matches without scoring a goal. He made his debut on 23 October 1966 in a match against the Republic of Ireland.

Career statistics

Clubs

Source:^[2]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			Cup		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Elche	1964–65	La Liga	19	10	2	1	21	11
	1965–66	La Liga	30	18	6	5	36	23
	1966–67	La Liga	29	8	6	2	35	10
	1967–68	La Liga	25	9	5	3	30	12
	1968–69	La Liga	30	8	8	0	38	8
	1969–70	La Liga	27	2	2	1	29	3
	1970–71	La Liga	24	7	3	0	27	7
	1971–72	Segunda División	30	2	2	1	32	3
	Total		214	64	34	13	248	77
Deportivo de La Coruña	1973–74	Segunda División	7	0	?	?	7	0
Don Benito	1977–78	Tercera División	?	?	1	0	1	0
	1978–79	Tercera División	?	?	2	0	2	0
	Total		?	?	3	0	3	0
Career total			221	64	37	13	258	77

International

^[2]

National team	Year	Apps
Spain	1966	1
Spain	1969	1
Total		2

Honours

Individual

La Liga: Top Scorer 1965–66^[3]

References

^ "Vavá, el primer "Pichichi" en la historia del Elche". Marca. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Spain – Vavá II". Besoccer. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^ "Spain – List of Topscorers ("Pichichi") 1929–2015". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2022.

External links

Vavá II at BDFutbol
Vavá II at National-Football-Teams.com
Vavá II at EU-Football.info

[1] "Vavá, el primer "Pichichi" en la historia del Elche". Marca. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2022.

[Besoccer-2] "Spain – Vavá II". Besoccer. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

[3] "Spain – List of Topscorers ("Pichichi") 1929–2015". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2022.

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