Quick Facts
Biography
Pedro Munitis Álvarez (born 19 June 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a forward, and the current manager of SD Ponferradina.
He was one of the shortest players in La Liga, and was best known for his fighting spirit. His professional career was mainly associated with Racing de Santander – he also represented Real Madrid for two years – and he played in 447 top flight games over the course of 17 seasons, scoring 43 goals.
A Spanish international in the late 1990s/early 2000s, Munitis represented the country at Euro 2000.
Club career
Born in Santander, Cantabria, Munitis played in three separate periods for hometown Racing de Santander. He first appeared with its first team on 22 January 1995, in a 0–0 home draw against Real Sociedad.
After a loan to CD Badajoz (second division) and scoring 14 goals in 72 league games with Racing from 1998 to 2000, Munitis attracted attention from La Liga giants Real Madrid, who signed him for £6.8 million. He would be relatively used during his two seasons with the capital club, helping it to one league and one UEFA Champions League.
Munitis spent the 2002–03 season on loan at Racing Santander, notably netting (and celebrating) against Real Madrid in a 2–0 home win on 19 October 2002. In the following off-season, he was purchased up by Deportivo de La Coruña on a free transfer; after a poor first year he would be one of the Galicia side's most important offensive players, also being used as a left winger, providing rest for veteran captain Fran and being his replacement when Fran retired at the end of 2004–05.
Munitis returned to Racing in July 2006, forming an interesting offensive partnership with gigantic Serbian Nikola Žigić in his first season and helping it achieve a first ever qualification to the UEFA Cup in his second. On 19 April 2009 he played his 200th league match for the club, at RCD Espanyol.
In the 2009–10 campaign, 34-year-old Munitis was again an undisputed starter, but did not manage to find the net in 29 league contests, and his season was over during Racing's 3–1 home win against Espanyol due to a knee injury, on 14 April 2010; at that time he ranked second in assists, only trailing FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi.
On 17 October 2010, after more than one year without scoring, Munitis netted from 30 metres for the only goal of the home fixture against UD Almería. During the season, he again featured prominently in the starting XI, under both Miguel Ángel Portugal and his successor Marcelino García Toral, the latter returned to the club after nearly three years; in the following campaign he failed to score in 32 games, and Racing returned to the second level after one decade, with the player announcing shortly after his decision to leave his main club.
Still not having announced his retirement, Munitis began his managerial career, with women's football club SD Reocín. In 2014 he was appointed at Club Bansander, taking charge of the youth squads.
Munitis returned to Racing on 4 March 2015, being appointed assistant manager along with former teammate Gonzalo Colsa.
International career
Munitis gained 21 caps for Spain, and scored two goals. He represented the nation at UEFA Euro 2000, appearing as a substitute and netting in a 4–3 group stage win against Yugoslavia and starting in the quarterfinal loss to France (1–2).
Munitis' debut came on 27 March 1999 in an Euro 2000 qualifier against Austria, playing 30 minutes in a 9–0 thrashing in Valencia.
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 18 August 1999 | Polish Army, Warsaw, Poland |  Poland | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 2. | 21 June 2000 | Jan Breydel, Bruges, Belgium |  Yugoslavia | 2–2 | 3–4 | Euro 2000 |
Honours
- Real Madrid
- UEFA Champions League: 2001–02
- UEFA Super Cup: 2002
- La Liga: 2000–01