Alberto Benito (footballer, born 1972)
Alberto Benito Castañeda (born 17 June 1972) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central midfielder and currently part of the recruitment team for Aston Villa.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alberto Benito Castañeda | ||
| Date of birth | 17 June 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1990–1991 | Real Madrid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1991–1992 | Pegaso | ||
| 1992–1994 | Valencia B | 25 | (9) |
| 1994 | Valencia | 5 | (0) |
| 1994–1999 | Toledo | 117 | (13) |
| 1999–2002 | Cádiz | 86 | (6) |
| Total | 236 | (28) | |
| International career | |||
| 1991 | Spain U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 1991 | Spain U20 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Born in Madrid, Benito made his senior debuts with Galáctico Pegaso in Tercera División, after graduating with Real Madrid's youth setup. In the 1992, summer he joined Valencia, being assigned to the reserves in Segunda División B.
On 23 January 1994, Benito made his first team – and La Liga – debut, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–2 home draw against Real Oviedo. In July 1994, he moved to Segunda División side Toledo, being a regular starter during his spell at the Castile-La Mancha side.
In January 1999, Benito signed for Cádiz in the third level, retiring with the side in 2002, aged only 29.
International career
Benito represented Spain at the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship in Portugal, playing only one match in an eventual quarter-final exit.
Post-playing career
Immediately after retiring Benito joined the Andalusians' staff, being a technical secretary at the club. On 26 June 2007, he left the club and joined neighbouring Almería, being named director of football.[1]
On 9 June 2014, Benito left the latter,[2] returning to the role roughly a year later.[3]
Benito has worked with former Toledo teammate Unai Emery, with whom he shared a room when they were players,[4] as part of the scouting a recruitment teams at Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal. He also spent time working for Granada, Parma and Swansea City.[5]
In May 2023, Benito rejoined Emery at Aston Villa, working alongside the Head of Recruitment, as part of the club's global recruitment network.[6]
Personal life
Benito's son Pedro is also a footballer.[7] A forward, he plays and supports San Sebastián de los Reyes.
References
- Alberto Benito deja el Cádiz y se va al Almería (Alberto Benito leaves Cádiz and goes to Almería); Marca, 26 June 2007 (in Spanish)
- Andrés Fernández será el nuevo director deportivo del Almería (Andrés Fernández will be the new director of football of Almería); Diario AS, 9 June 2014 (in Spanish)
- Alberto Benito vuelve a ocupar el cargo de director deportivo en el Almería (Alberto Benito returns to occupy the director of football rola at Almería); Almería's official website, 2 June 2015 (in Spanish)
- Ballús, Evans, Pol, Gregg (11 May 2023). "Why Aston Villa turned to Alemany to oversee the next phase of Project Emery". The Athletic. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Seelochan, Isaac (2023-05-22). "Aston Villa make big recruitment announcement with two new additions". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- "V Sports and Aston Villa announce additions to global recruitment network". Aston Villa Football Club. 2023-05-22. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- "Alberto Benito: «Estoy muy ilusionado por mi hijo porque se lo ha currado»" [Alberto Benito: "I am very excited for my son because he has done it"] (in Spanish). La Voz Digital. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
External links
- Alberto Benito at BDFutbol
- Stats and bio at Cadistas1910 (in Spanish)
- Stats and bio at CiberChe (in Spanish)