Name: Juan Cruz Sol Oria
Nickname: ''Loqui''



Country: Spain
Club: Valencia (1965-1975), Real Madrid (1975-1979)
Number: 2
Position: *SB, CB
Side: RF/RS
Age: 23-29 years (13/09/1947)

Height: 180 cm
Weight: 76 kg

Attack: 71
Defence: 79
Balance: 84
Stamina: 85
Top Speed: 82
Acceleration: 83
Response: 82
Agility: 77
Dribble Accuracy: 75
Dribble Speed: 76
Short Pass Accuracy: 75
Short Pass Speed: 79
Long Pass Accuracy: 76
Long Pass Speed: 79
Shot Accuracy: 68
Shot Power: 84
Shot Technique: 69
Free Kick Accuracy: 68
Curling: 71
Header: 85
Jump: 86
Technique: 76
Aggression: 79
Mentality: 85
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 79

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 7
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 5
Consistency: 7
Growth type: Standard/Lasting

CARDS:
P04 - Darting Run
S08 - Slide Tackle
S09 - Covering

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Side - Sliding - Covering

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Balanced


INFO:
Juan Cruz Sol arrived at Valencia as a personal bet by Carlos Iturraspe. One of his scouts in the Basque country warned him about the existence of a young pelota player and soccer player in Elgóibar, his home town, whose physical and technical conditions made him a diamond in the rough for the future of the Mestalla entity . He had not turned 16 years old when Iturraspe went to see him live, in a match in which the player scored four goals with his town's team. The Valencian coach had no doubts and began negotiations that did not end until he achieved the goal of taking Juan to Valencia, who arrived in Mestalla in 1963, more than 600km from his home, at just 16 years of age, but with all the illusion of the world.

Sol continued his training in Valencia as a youth until Barinaga gave him the opportunity to debut in the First Division nine days before he came of age. It was on September 4, 1965, in a League match against Sevilla at the Sánchez Pizjuán, playing inside right. During that first course, Juan completed 5 League games, one Cup and one Fairs Cup, showing his personality on the pitch despite his young age. That summer, the team, thanks to the international cache achieved with the two Fairs Cups, is invited to play the Small World Cup in Venezuela and Mundo includes Sol in the call. The player participated in three matches in the competition and scored his first goal as a Valencianista against Vitoria de Guimaraes.

An undisputed starter for the next nine seasons, Sol improved his performance significantly when Mundo moved his position back to right-back. Still 18 years old, he started with Tatono and Mestre in the 1967 Cup final, winning his first title against Athletic Club at the Bernabeú. In February 1970, Kubala made him debut with the national team in a 2-0 victory against Germany at Pizjuán, and from that moment he kept the 2 in red for 7 years, completing a total of 28 caps and a goal against Greece in 1973. Being one of the leaders of the locker room, Sol became one of Alfredo Di Stéfano's fundamental pieces for the conquest of the 1971 League, with Valencia being the team with the fewest goals scored. First division.

At 26, Juan Cruz Sol is already in his own right one of the best defenders in the Spanish league. He was an all-terrain winger, with great physical strength and speed, impenetrable in defense and easy to join the attack. Temperamental player, he ran down the wing remembering his days as a striker, but quickly returned to his usual position. He played well with his head and was forceful in clearances and tackles on the contrary. But those entries were also made to his teammates, hence when Di Stéfano trained Valencia he reminded him more than once that it was a training session and not a match. His superiority in aerial play also allowed him to score headed goals with some ease, scoring 15 with the Valencian shirt. It was in that summer of 1975 when the president of Real Madrid, Santiago Bernabéu, became infatuated with signing him. The footballer had many doubts, but finally accepted the transfer for which Valencia entered more than thirty million pesetas. Juan Sol showed from the beginning that his new team had made the right choice by hiring him. It couldn't be a surprise either. Sol was at the ideal point in his career to perform at Real Madrid 's level of demand, in top form and with the necessary experience to face such a challenge. He could act as a centre back or libero, but in Madrid he would also end up establishing himself as a magnificent right back. Strong and tall, he was 1.80 m tall. In sports, Sol established himself as a defensive bastion and a regular in the Real Madrid teams of the time. Surely the children who lived through that football are capable of reciting complete line-ups in which Juan Sol was a part with number 2 on his back. Sol spent four and a half seasons at Real Madrid, in which he played a total of 130 games and won three league titles that he added to his personal track record.

However, a serious knee injury at the beginning of the 1979-1980 season left him without minutes in the Chamartín team and in January 1980 he returned to Mestalla, already 32 years old and with a battered knee, wearing the Valencia shirt again, in a second stage that would last only a year and a half and that would serve as a farewell to professional football. In the summer of 1981, after increasing his record with the Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup, Juan Cruz Sol retired as a great legend of Spanish football, having accumulated 467 official matches between Valencia, Real Madrid and the national team.