elpisha

Betis

Joaquín was born in El Puerto de Santa María, Province of Cádiz. In 1999–2000 he started his senior career, appearing regularly for Real Betis B (after spending two years in the youth ranks) as it was eventually relegated from the Segunda División B. He moved to the first team the following season, making his professional debut on 3 September 2000 and having an immediate impact – 38 matches and three goals – as the Andalusians returned to La Liga after one year out. Subsequently, Joaquín collected well over 200 official appearances for Betis in the next five years, assisting and scoring alike. During 2004–05 he played all the games, scoring five times, and added three goals in the campaign's Copa del Rey; as the final of the latter was played at the Vicente Calderón Stadium on 11 June 2005, he featured the full 90 minutes plus extra time of the 2–1 win against CA Osasuna. Joaquín appeared in all six group-stage matches in the following season's UEFA Champions League, including the 1–0 victory over Chelsea on 1 November 2005 and a 0–0 draw against Liverpool at Anfield late in the same month (third-place finish, UEFA Cup relegation). On the domestic front, he scored three goals from 35 appearances for the 14th-placed side. In late July 2006, following a conversation with Joaquín, Betis chairman Pepe León stated that the player had convinced him that he would stay at the club for another year. "It has surprised me a lot,” he admitted. “I came to convince him and…

Joaquín made his debut for the Spain national team on 13 February 2002 against Portugal, in a 1–1 friendly played in Barcelona. Brilliant club form for Betis saw him get called up for that year's FIFA World Cup, where he appeared twice: in his second match, the quarter-finals against co-hosts South Korea, he was involved in a couple of debatable decisions, including one incident where the linesman raised his flag for a goal kick as Joaquín was crossing a ball to Fernando Morientes, who was denied a golden goal – the argument was that the ball had crossed the line. However, replays showed that it did not; the game then went to penalties, and he was chosen to take his team's fourth attempt – despite carrying an injury – which was blocked by Lee Woon-jae. Joaquín played again for the nation through their premature exit at UEFA Euro 2004, also being selected for the 2006 World Cup. He totalled five appearances, but was not first-choice at either competition, only starting twice overall. During the early stages of the Euro 2008 qualification campaign, Spain lost 3–2 against Northern Ireland. After the match, Joaquín said in a Spanish radio interview: "Right now, the national team is a mess, chaos and Luis doesn't know how to handle it in these difficult moments. I know that what I'm saying is not going to help me get back into the national team, but it's what I feel." He later commented, "The only thing I wanted to say is that these are not clear times for the national squad…

Club

International

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Joaquín goal.

Joaquín grew up in a big family, with eight brothers and sisters in total. As the third child, he had two elder brothers. Three of the eight children in this family are or have been engaged in football: besides Joaquín, his elder brother Lucas played for Cádiz CF, and his brother Ricardo also played in Betis' youth ranks. Growing up, Joaquín wanted to be a bullfighter. Joaquín's uncle, nicknamed "El Chino", firmly believed in Joaquín's talent and paid for his daily round trip between Cádiz and Seville when Joaquín was in Betis' youth system. El Chino died in 2002, and since then Joaquín has dedicated most of his achievements to him, remembering him as his mentor. After the 2005 domestic cup conquest, Joaquín married Susana Saborido on 8 July. The trophy was present at the ceremony, as was the entire Betis squad. In October 2022, after a long and successful presence on television and social media, he made his debut as a TV host in prime time, with El novato, an interview program with popular personalities with a wide audience since its inception. One year later, he appeared in the Kings League cup finals held at the La Rosaleda Stadium, home of his former club Málaga; he chose to represent Los Troncos FC, playing in the semi-final and contributing an assist on the opening goal as his team went on to beat Aniquiladores FC 2–0 and advance to the decisive match against Ultimate Móstoles later that day.