Manuel Sánchez Torres

Sánchez Torres was born in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia. When he was seven years old, he moved with his parents to Almelo in the Netherlands, and started his career at local amateurs PH Almelo, being subsequently noticed and signed by Eredivisie club FC Twente. On 17 September 1978, aged 18, Sánchez Torres made his league debut for Twente, in a home game against Sparta Rotterdam, scoring his first goal a few weeks later at HFC Haarlem and ending his first season with three goals in 23 matches as the Enschede side finished in 11th position and reached the final of the KNVB Cup, lost to league champions AFC Ajax. From 1980 onwards, Sánchez Torres scored in double digits in every season, save for the 1982–83 campaign which ended in relegation to the Eerste Divisie. This was followed by immediate promotion, with the player netting 11 times for the runners-up. Sánchez Torres returned to his country in summer 1985 by joining Valencia CF, making his debut for the Che on 31 August in a 2–1 home win over Real Valladolid where he left the pitch injured after 24 minutes. During his spell at the Mestalla Stadium, where he was coached by Alfredo Di Stéfano, he failed to reproduce his previous form, scoring only once and also suffering La Liga relegation in his first season; his acquisition was mostly financed by longtime supporter Emiliano Rojo, who lent 100.000 pesetas to the club. After leaving Valencia, Sánchez Torres returned to the Netherlands with top-division Roda JC Kerkrade,…

Valencia

Segunda División: 1986–87