César Gómez
Encyclopedia
César Gómez del Rey is a former Spanish
footballer, who played as a central defender.
He is best known for being part of the CD Tenerife
sides that consolidated in La Liga
into consecutive UEFA Cup
presences.
's youth system, and made his professional debuts in 1990, with Real Valladolid
(being relegated in his second year).
In 1992, he joined CD Tenerife
, being instrumental as the Canary Islands
outfit qualified for the UEFA Cup in his debut campaign; moreover, he played in the last league
round against his alma mater
, as Tenerife won and the Merengues lost the national title for the second consecutive year against the same team.
In 1997, after roughly 200 overall appearances for Tenerife, Gómez was signed by Serie A
top club A.S. Roma
on a lucrative four-year contract, arriving at the same time as compatriot Iván Helguera. However, he only played a total three games in his first season, including a lone starter spell in a Derby della Capitale
3–1 defeat to 10-man S.S. Lazio
; he was successively removed from the first team following his refusal for a release by mutual consent, and spent the following three years without playing a single game at all.
Gómez retired in 2001, after his contract with Roma expired, but stayed in the city
, where he had opened a car shop in the EUR
neighbourhood in the meantime. It was then revealed he had been signed by Roma following a mistake from the club directors, who actually were interested in fellow Tenerife defender, Argentine
Pablo Paz
.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
footballer, who played as a central defender.
He is best known for being part of the CD Tenerife
CD Tenerife
Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in Tenerife . Founded in 1922, it currently plays in Segunda División B, holding home matches at Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López, with a 24,000-seat capacity.-History:Club Deportivo Tenerife was founded in...
sides that consolidated in La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
into consecutive UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
presences.
Football career
Gómez unsuccessfully graduated from Real MadridReal Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
's youth system, and made his professional debuts in 1990, with Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Valladolid, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, from where the nickname Pucela is derived....
(being relegated in his second year).
In 1992, he joined CD Tenerife
CD Tenerife
Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in Tenerife . Founded in 1922, it currently plays in Segunda División B, holding home matches at Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López, with a 24,000-seat capacity.-History:Club Deportivo Tenerife was founded in...
, being instrumental as the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
outfit qualified for the UEFA Cup in his debut campaign; moreover, he played in the last league
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
round against his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
, as Tenerife won and the Merengues lost the national title for the second consecutive year against the same team.
In 1997, after roughly 200 overall appearances for Tenerife, Gómez was signed by Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
top club A.S. Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...
on a lucrative four-year contract, arriving at the same time as compatriot Iván Helguera. However, he only played a total three games in his first season, including a lone starter spell in a Derby della Capitale
Derby della Capitale
The Derby della Capitale , also known as Derby Capitolino and Derby del Cupolone, as well as The Rome Derby in English, is the football local derby in Rome, Italy, between the two major teams of the city, Roma and Lazio...
3–1 defeat to 10-man S.S. Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
; he was successively removed from the first team following his refusal for a release by mutual consent, and spent the following three years without playing a single game at all.
Gómez retired in 2001, after his contract with Roma expired, but stayed in the city
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where he had opened a car shop in the EUR
Esposizione Universale Roma
EUR is a residential and business district in Rome, Italy, located south of the city center. The area was originally chosen in 1930s as the site for the 1942 world's fair which Benito Mussolini planned to open to celebrate twenty years of Fascism. EUR was also designed to direct the expansion of...
neighbourhood in the meantime. It was then revealed he had been signed by Roma following a mistake from the club directors, who actually were interested in fellow Tenerife defender, Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
Pablo Paz
Pablo Paz
Pablo Ariel Paz Gallo is a retired Argentine footballer who played as a central defender.In a career that spanned 15 years, he played more in Spain than in his homeland, notably with CD Tenerife....
.