# Joaquín (footballer, born 1981)
**Joaquín** (Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez, born 1981 in [El Puerto de Santa María](https://www.edgepedia.org/el-puerto-de-santa-maria), Cádiz) is a Spanish retired footballer, a winger who spent most of a 23-year professional career with Real Betis Balompié and remains the club's record appearance holder.[1](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/amp/first_team/joaquin-vuelve-casa-5256) • [2](https://www.realbetisbalompie.es/club/consejo-de-administracion/joaquin-sanchez) Known simply as Joaquín, and nicknamed 'Joaking' from his academy days, he wore the number 17 shirt for Betis across two spells, won the [Copa del Rey](https://www.edgepedia.org/copa-del-rey) with Betis and Valencia, and earned 51 caps for Spain.[3](https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2024/09/24/no-es-un-deporte-sano-joaquin-confiesa-que-le-ocurre-cuando-ve-un-balon-de-futbol-ahora-que-esta-retirado-cadena-ser/) • [4](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and birth | Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez, El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, 1981[1](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/amp/first_team/joaquin-vuelve-casa-5256) |
| Debut | 3 September 2000 against Compostela, under Fernando Vázquez, aged 19[4](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950) |
| Clubs | Real Betis (2000–2006, 2015–2023), Valencia, Málaga, ACF Fiorentina[5](https://www.footylogos.com/careers/joaquin) |
| Real Betis record | 528 first-team games, a club record, with 66 goals[2](https://www.realbetisbalompie.es/club/consejo-de-administracion/joaquin-sanchez) |
| Spain | 51 caps, 4 goals, 2002 and 2006 World Cups, Euro 2004[4](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950) |
| Titles | Copa del Rey 2005 and 2022 with Betis, 2008 with Valencia[2](https://www.realbetisbalompie.es/club/consejo-de-administracion/joaquin-sanchez) • [4](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950) |
| After retirement | Appointed to the Real Betis board of directors by cooptation, subject to ratification by shareholders[6](https://www.realbetisbalompie.es/noticias/primer-equipo/joaquin-sanchez-nuevo-consejero-del-real-betis-31893) |
## Early career and first Betis spell
Joaquín joined the [Real Betis](https://www.edgepedia.org/real-betis) academy at 16 and won a youth Copa del Rey in 1999. He rose from Betis B to the first team in 2000 and made his official debut on 3 September of that year against Compostela in [Santiago de Compostela](https://www.edgepedia.org/santiago-de-compostela), aged 19.[1](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/amp/first_team/joaquin-vuelve-casa-5256) In his first season he played 38 games and helped the club win promotion to the top division.[4](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950)
The 2004–05 season was the high point of his first spell. Betis won the Copa del Rey, beating [CA Osasuna](https://www.edgepedia.org/ca-osasuna) in the final, and qualified for the [UEFA Champions League](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-champions-league) for the first time in the club's history.[4](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950) Across six seasons in this spell he scored 31 league goals for Betis from the wing.[1](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/amp/first_team/joaquin-vuelve-casa-5256)
## Valencia, Málaga and Fiorentina
In the summer of 2006 Joaquín signed for [Valencia CF](https://www.edgepedia.org/valencia-cf), where he stayed five seasons, won the 2008 Copa del Rey, and played in three editions of the Champions League.[4](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950) He then joined [Málaga CF](https://www.edgepedia.org/malaga-cf), where under [Manuel Pellegrini](https://www.edgepedia.org/manuel-pellegrini) the club reached the Champions League quarter-finals, a level the club had never previously attained.[4](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950)
His only spell abroad was two seasons at [ACF Fiorentina](https://www.edgepedia.org/acf-fiorentina) in Italy, where he played 71 games before returning to Seville in 2015 after a difficult transfer negotiation.[7](https://as.com/futbol/real-fiorentina-balompie-n/)
## Return to Betis and second spell
Joaquín was presented at the Benito Villamarín stadium on 1 September 2015, nine years after leaving, and went on to spend eight further seasons at the club, contributing to three European qualifications and the 2022 Copa del Rey.[4](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950) He served as club captain in this period.[4](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950)
**Longevity defined his second spell.** By September 2017 he was the only active player to have scored in 15 top-flight seasons, and his 18 professional seasons to that point, in the second division, the first division, and [Serie A](https://www.edgepedia.org/serie-a), had each produced at least one goal.[8](https://as.com/futbol/2017/09/18/primera/1505742086_330953.html) At the announcement of his retirement he stood second in all-time [La Liga](https://www.edgepedia.org/la-liga) appearances with 615, seven short of [Andoni Zubizarreta](https://www.edgepedia.org/andoni-zubizarreta)'s record, despite having spent three seasons of his career in Italy.[4](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950)
## Spain
Coach José Antonio Camacho first called him up when he was 20, and his international debut was a 1–1 draw with Portugal. He played 51 games for Spain between 2002 and 2007, 42 of them as a Betis player, scoring four goals, and appeared at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and Euro 2004.[4](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950) At the 2002 quarter-final against South Korea he started and performed strongly in a match decided by refereeing controversy, but missed the fifth and final penalty in the shoot-out, which Spain lost.[4](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950) His international career ended before Spain's run of major titles.[5](https://www.footylogos.com/careers/joaquin)
## Retirement and later role at Betis
On 19 April 2023 Joaquín announced through a video on social media that the 2022–23 season, in which he was 41, would be his last, closing a professional career of more than two decades.[9](https://www.rtve.es/deportes/20230419/joaquin-betis-retiro-futbol/2439697.shtml) • [10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJcaLOnA1Y4)
After retiring he remained linked to the club, taking on institutional and sporting functions, and the Real Betis board of directors later appointed him a director (consejero) by cooptation, an appointment requiring ratification by the shareholders at the next General Meeting.[6](https://www.realbetisbalompie.es/noticias/primer-equipo/joaquin-sanchez-nuevo-consejero-del-real-betis-31893) • [2](https://www.realbetisbalompie.es/club/consejo-de-administracion/joaquin-sanchez) He is married to Susana Saborido, whom he met in 2000; their daughter Salma was born in Valencia in 2010 during his time at that club.[11](https://www.cadenadial.com/2026/joaquin-sanchez-emocionado-por-ver-graduarse-a-su-hija-pequena-salma-en-sevilla-felicidades-mi-vida-453390.html)
## References
1. [Joaquín vuelve a casa, Real Betis Balompié](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/amp/first_team/joaquin-vuelve-casa-5256)
2. [Consejo de administración: Joaquín Sánchez, Real Betis Balompié](https://www.realbetisbalompie.es/club/consejo-de-administracion/joaquin-sanchez)
3. ["No es un deporte sano": Joaquín confiesa qué le ocurre cuando ve un balón de fútbol, Cadena SER](https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2024/09/24/no-es-un-deporte-sano-joaquin-confiesa-que-le-ocurre-cuando-ve-un-balon-de-futbol-ahora-que-esta-retirado-cadena-ser/)
4. [Joaquin, Real Betis captain and legend, announces his retirement, Real Betis Balompié](https://en.realbetisbalompie.es/news/current%20news/joaquin-real-betis-captain-and-legend-announces-his-retirement-28950)
5. [Joaquín: career, clubs and national team, FootyLogos](https://www.footylogos.com/careers/joaquin)
6. [Joaquín Sánchez, nuevo consejero del Real Betis Balompié, Real Betis Balompié](https://www.realbetisbalompie.es/noticias/primer-equipo/joaquin-sanchez-nuevo-consejero-del-real-betis-31893)
7. [Real Fiorentina Balompié, AS.com](https://as.com/futbol/real-fiorentina-balompie-n/)
8. [Joaquín bate récords y sigue haciendo historia con el Betis, AS.com](https://as.com/futbol/2017/09/18/primera/1505742086_330953.html)
9. [El Real Betis anuncia la retirada de Joaquín a final de temporada, RTVE](https://www.rtve.es/deportes/20230419/joaquin-betis-retiro-futbol/2439697.shtml)
10. [Joaquín announces his retirement from professional football, Agencia EFE (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJcaLOnA1Y4)
11. [Joaquín Sánchez, emocionado por ver graduarse a su hija pequeña, Salma, Cadena Dial](https://www.cadenadial.com/2026/joaquin-sanchez-emocionado-por-ver-graduarse-a-su-hija-pequena-salma-en-sevilla-felicidades-mi-vida-453390.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of continental Europe › Spanish footballers born before 1995 › Spanish footballers born 1980–1989*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license