Guti
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José María Gutiérrez Hérnandez | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Real Madrid | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 February 2008 | |||
Guti, full name José María Gutiérrez Hernández (born October 31, 1976 in Madrid) is a Spanish football player who currently plays for Real Madrid, where he has played his entire career. Alongside Raúl González and Iker Casillas, he serves as team captain.
Club career
As a child Guti was interested in tennis and books on sports. He began playing for Real Madrid in 1986 in the cantera. He began as a striker, but was later moved to his current position in the midfield. In 1995 he was called up to Spain's U-18 and won the European cup with them. The same year he debuted for Real's seniors on December 21 against Sevilla FC, with Real Madrid winning 4-1. He finished the season with 1 goal in 9 appearances.
In 1997 Guti added two trophies to his cabinet, La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. He played 17 games that season, scoring once. Guti was again called upon to help the U-21 side lift the European cup in 1998. This capped off a brilliant season with Madrid as well after they won the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup.
The 1999-2000 season started badly for Guti: struggling with the responsibility of replacing Clarence Seedorf, and was sent off at FIFA Club World Championship against Raja Casablanca for kicking a fallen adversary. In that season, in which he also captured the Champions League, he scored 6 goals in 28 games. The following year he had his best scoring season for Madrid, 14 goals in 31 games. The goals contributed to Madrid's 27th league title and Spanish Super Cup.
After the purchase of Brazilian Ronaldo in 2002, Guti was placed in the midfield and his goalscoring rate went down drastically. During the next two seasons he would score 8 goals in 63 games. Along with the goals came another Champions League, UEFA Supercup, and Intercontinental Cup. Then in 2003, he won the league and Spanish Super Cup.
Guti caused controversy when he was caught on camera verbally abusing a group of Villarreal fans as he stepped off the team bus by referring to them as paletos, a pejorative term which translates between "bumpkin" and "chav". Guti has since received a torrent of abuse from Villarreal fans whenever he has played in their town, to a chorus of ¡paleto, paleto!. Other Valencian teams have come out in support of Villarreal, as well as fans from other teams such as Atlético de Madrid[1]. In a later interview with AS, Guti denied calling people from Villarreal paletos but then went on to say that the term is not as offensive as people have made out.
During 2004-05, Guti had his lowest season in terms of goal scoring, as he failed to score for the first time in seven seasons with the first team. He only managed to score a goal, in an international against San Marino in February 2005. In 2005-06, he played 43 games and scored 6 goals (4 in La Liga and 2 in Champions League).
With the election of Ramón Calderón as club president and his subsequent vow to bring AC Milan's Brazilian star Kaká to Real Madrid, Guti's future at the Bernabéu appeared insecure. He was linked with a move away from The Merengues, and cross-town rivals Atlético Madrid showed a keen interest in getting his services. In the end, Guti decided to stay with Real while Kaká stayed in Italy.
With Zinedine Zidane retired, Guti found himself as the creative playmaker for 2006-07, his preferred position. His excellent short and through pass abilities contributed to many of the goals which helped Real Madrid become league champions for the 30th time in 2007.
On February 10, 2008, Guti had two goals and four assists in a home game against Real Valladolid for which he was awarded the man of the match. Real Madrid won the game 7-0.
International career
A Spanish international since 05-05-1999 (Spain-Croatia, 3-1), Guti has nevertheless failed to appear in any tournament's final stage for his country.
Goals
| Club | Season | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid | 1995-96 | 9 | 1 |
| Real Madrid | 1996-97 | 14 | 0 |
| Real Madrid | 1997-98 | 17 | 1 |
| Real Madrid | 1998-99 | 28 | 1 |
| Real Madrid | 1999-00 | 28 | 6 |
| Real Madrid | 2000-01 | 32 | 14 |
| Real Madrid | 2001-02 | 29 | 4 |
| Real Madrid | 2002-03 | 34 | 4 |
| Real Madrid | 2003-04 | 26 | 2 |
| Real Madrid | 2004-05 | 31 | 0 |
| Real Madrid | 2005-06 | 33 | 4 |
| Real Madrid | 2006-07 | 30 | 1 |
| Real Madrid | 2007-08 | 21 | 3 |
| Total | 331 | 41 |
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2002-10-12 | Estadio Carlos Belmonte, Albacete, Spain |  Northern Ireland |
2-0 | 3-0 | 2004 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying |
| 2 | 2003-02-12 | ONO Estadi, Mallorca, Spain |  Germany |
3-1 | 3-1 | Friendly match |
| 3 | 2005-02-09 | Mediterraneo Stadium, Almeria, Spain |  San Marino |
4-0 | 5-0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Personal life
Has been married to Arancha de Benito, a Spanish television celebrity, since the 22nd of June, 1999. Together they have two children, Zaira (born 2000) and Aitor (born 2002). In February 2008, a spanish tabloid magazine, Cuore, published photos of the madridista supposedly kissing a man. His wife made a statement to the press in which she stated her decision to "take a break". The press confirmed that lately the couple was having troubles and that De Benito was worried about her husband, who was having late night partying. The Cuore pictures were since proven true. GUTI IS A BIG FAT GAY! everybody knows he's gay as he enjoys bum-sex with Haribo, a notorious male jigalow[1]
Cameo performances
Has played himself in two motion pictures, Torrente 3: El Protector and Goal! 2: Living the Dream.... He has also appeared in a 2005 documentary/movie about Real Madrid called Real, The Movie.