388 – ENG
April 10, 1988 is a date that has been recorded in the history of soccer. Hugo Sánchez (Mexico City, 1958), at the time a Real Madrid striker, received a three-minute ovation by 80,000 crazy fans at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium after placing one of the most legendary goals in the Spanish League: a perfect bicycle kick goal against Logroñés.
At only 14 years old, Hugo Sánchez was already part of the Mexican National Team for the Olympic Games and won a CONCACAF tournament. His career began with UNAM’s Pumas; later he went to Spain to join the Atlético de Madrid squad in 1981, and achieved a legendary status while playing for Real Madrid, signed in 1985. “When I arrived in Spain, people yelled at me ‘Indian’; when I left, they called me ‘Hugol’”50, he recalls.
He is known as the “Pentapichichi” for having been a five-time winner of the trophy awarded in Spain to the top goal scorer in the national league championship. He was also the winner of a European Golden Shoe (1989–1990), and a four-time top foreigner scorer in La Liga (1987 to 1990).
With 164 goals he consolidated himself as the fifth top Real Madrid scorer in La Liga, and with 234 as the fourth overall top scorer in the history of the Spanish tournament. As a member of Mexico’s national team, he played 76 games and scored 42 goals. He is the best Mexican soccer player of the 20th century.
