Manolo (footballer, born 1947)
Manuel Rodríguez Alfonso, known as Manolo, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defender.
He spent his entire career with Celta de Vigo, making 533 appearances for the club which was an all-time record for several decades.
Club career
Born in Cangas, Pontevedra, Manolo joined RC Celta de Vigo's academy at age 14. In 1966, he was promoted to the first team and made his debut for them in the Segunda División.Manolo appeared in his first La Liga game on 14 September 1969, in a 2–1 away loss against Real Sociedad. He scored his first official goal on 23 June 1968, helping to a 3–2 comeback win over Real Madrid in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Copa del Generalísimo. The first of four in the domestic league came on 14 February 1971, the only as the hosts beat UD Las Palmas.
On 27 January 1974, Manolo suffered a serious knee injury after a tough tackle by FC Barcelona's Johan Cruyff; he continued to play in the following weeks, however, with the aid of anti-inflammatory drugs. Three years later, when the two teams met again at the Camp Nou, he refused to be selected as captain in order to avoid saluting the Dutchman.
Manolo remained at the club, as captain, until the end of the 1981–82 season, promoting to the top flight as champion. He totalled 533 matches during his spell, holding the all-time record until 2025–26 when he was surpassed by Iago Aspas; of those, 226 were in the top division.
On 6 May 1982, 30,000 people gathered at Balaídos Stadium to watch Manolo's farewell match between Celta and the Poland national team.