Juan Lozano

Born in Coria del Río, Province of Seville, Lozano's parents migrated to Belgium when he was still very young. He lived near K. Beerschot VAC's stadium, and joined its youth system at age 11, making his senior debut in 1974 at the age of 19 and soon standing out for his outstanding dribbling skills. Lozano moved to the United States in 1980 to play for the Washington Diplomats, but soon returned to Belgium, being signed by RSC Anderlecht where he continued to regularly put on stellar performances. In 1982–83, he was instrumental in the Brussels side's victory in the UEFA Cup – a 2–1 aggregate win against S.L. Benfica – scoring in the second leg in Lisbon with his head. In the summer of 1983, Real Madrid bought the 28-year-old Lozano whom, in spite of limited playing time due to physical problems and several run-ins with manager Amancio, did score six goals in La Liga, also winning another UEFA Cup. He subsequently returned to Anderlecht, continuing his success there as he came close to being awarded the Golden Shoe a couple of times. On 11 April 1987, Lozano's career all but came to an end after a tackle by K.S.V. Waregem's Ivan Desloover, which resulted in a broken leg. He still won the Footballer of the Year award for the season as his team went on to win three leagues in a row, but would never return to his previous form. Lozano retired professionally in 1990 aged 34, his last club being S.C. Eendracht Aalst in the Belgian Second Division. He still played some amateur…

The Royal Belgian Football Association tried to naturalise Lozano in order to select him for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. However, this request was rejected by the Senate (with Herman Vanderpoorten playing a major role) on the grounds that the player would only become eligible to represent the national team one year later.

Beerschot

Belgian Cup: 1978–79 Anderlecht

Belgian Pro League: 1985–86, 1986–87 Belgian Cup: 1987–88, 1988–89 Belgian Supercup: 1981, 1985, 1986, 1987 UEFA Cup: 1982–83 Jules Pappaert Cup: 1983, 1985 Bruges Matins: 1985, 1988 Real Madrid

UEFA Cup: 1984–85 Individual

Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year: 1987