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JOSÉ EMILIO AMAVISCA GÁRATE
Date of Birth: 19 June 1971
Nationality: Spain (international between 1994 and 1997)
Period at Deportivo: 2001 - 2004
Transfer: 300 mln ptas (ca €1,9 million) (2001, Racing de Santander)
Clubs: Espanyol (2004-2005), Deportivo (2001-2004), Racing de Santander (1998-2001), Real Madrid (1994-1998), Real Valladolid (1992-1994), Lleida (1991-1992), Real Valladolid (1989-1991), Laredo (1988-1989)
Sold: Out of contract (2004, to Espanyol)
Height: 182 cm
Weight: 68 kg
Position: Attacking Midfielder (left)
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 Winger AMAVISCA was thirty when he joined Deportivo having one Champions League (1998) win behind his name. At Real Madrid he had made fame at the wings providing Zamorano, Raúl, Esnáider, Suker and Morientes with numerous crosses. At Deportivo he experienced three glorious European campaigns but he himself didn’t occupy a main role.
It was the summer of 2001 when Racing de Santander were relegated back to the Segunda División. Deportivo snatched the left winger to take Fernando’s place as substitute of Fran as the Galicians would face another exhausting season in Europe. The squad needed broadening and Amavisca took with him a bag full of experience, starting at the highest level in 1989.
Until his transfer to Real Madrid in 1994, Amavisca spent four out of five seasons at Real Valladolid. The season 1991/1992 he played at Lleida. His breakthrough came during the season 1993/1994 when he scored six goals at the highest level wearing the purple and white of Valladolid. Fame he already had made by winning a golden medal with Spain at the 1992 Olympics Games in Barcelona.
Arriving at Madrid in 1994 the pressure was mounting on the team. Barcelona were reigning Spain with Deportivo just behind them, and Madrid were desperate to win the Liga again. Argentinean coach Jorge Valdano had players available like Zamorano, Buyo, Sanchís, Luis Enrique, Hierro, Laudrup etc. But it was Amavisca who would become the surprise of the season. The winger missed just one Liga match, was fourth of the list with most Liga minutes and made his debut in September, 1994 in the Spanish national team. He scored a total of ten Liga goals that year, including two during a 1-2 win at Espanyol. One 3 June 1995 he scored the first goal of the 2-1 home win against title rivals Deportivo. After Zamorano’s winner, with just five minutes remaining, Real Madrid were champions again.
At the same time Amavisca had lived his finest hour. A serious injury in January, 1996 kept him sidelined for a few months. But despite a poor season of Real Madrid (who finished sixth), Amavisca was picked for the Euro 1996 tournament to be played in England. The two seasons after it would be disappointing though. The presence of players like Mijatovic, Seedorf and Roberto Carlos made him become a substitute who suffered several injuries. His last Liga goal for Real Madrid he already had scored on 14 January, 1996.
Despite two poor seasons, he was crowned a Champions League winner in 1998 when Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 by a goal of Mijatovic. Amavisca came on in the dying seconds of that Amsterdam game but knew that his time at the club was over. Aged twenty-seven he himself didn’t consider his career over yet and signed at Racing de Santander. He played 84 Liga matches in 3 seasons for them and scored 10 Liga goals. He netted 7 of them in the season 2000/2001 which, nevertheless, didn’t avoid the drop of Racing.
His move to Deportivo meant a replacement of Fernando and back-up of Fran. He played none less than 28 matches in his first season and started 16 of them. On 22 September 2001 he scored two goals in a crazy 2-3 win at Alavés and Deportivo finished second that year, played another excellent Champions League season and won the Copa del Rey and Supercopa in 2002.
But his role at the club was over when Albert Luque was signed coming from Mallorca. Amavisca was now third choice at the left and played just another 23 matches of which barely 4 in the season 2003/2004. On 4 november 2001 he had scored his third, and final, Liga goal at Deportivo against Osasuna. In 2004 the winger, aged 33, moved to Espanyol for his final season at the highest level.
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