Marcos Alonso, another legend who fell in love with Sotogrande

A sad end, after a long illness. Great sorrow at passing of Marcos Alonso, the former footballer of FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid, among many others. As someone who really loved golf, he spent long seasons practicing it in Sotogrande and often enjoyed all the charms of the resort. He passed away at the age of 63 after a long illness that had afflicted him in recent times.

Marcos Alonso, alongside his son (Marcos Alonso Jr.) was a regular and one of the guaranteed faces every summer at the Golf Open of El Periódico de Sotogrande; enjoying great times and conversations (with lots of photographs included), with the players and golfers who came to chat for a while with one of the great legends of national football.

Ties to Sotogrande Alonso became a real regular and lover of the resort a short time before the new millennium. A regular at El Cuchurucho and the terrace of the Ké, although this wasn’t his only favourite place. Through Jesús Mejías, with whom he was connected by a great friendship since his arrival, we are discovering a little more about the strong ties that connected this great legend to the area. “He really enjoyed golf and his family at the beach club. He was a regular in summers but not only in Sotogrande, he loved to enjoy other parts of the Province and particularly, he came a lot to Jimena. It wasn’t strange at all to see him having tapas in any bar in the town or going to look for tomatoes in the garden or buying eggs. He was an exceptional, affectionate and friendly man with everyone” he explains. “I met him around the time of the Festival of Jimena and since then he took a great interest in the matters of the area and in discovering its places. I remember that one year he wanted to collaborate with a charity match in Jimena to collect funds for children with problems. Adolfo Aldana was the coach of the so-called “Celebrity team” and he was coach of the team of residents from the town. I remember that we ended the match with around 15 players on the pitch (he says among laughter); he did it as a joke and he gradually put players onto the pitch, amongst laughter. We had an unforgettable day and in the end more than 14,000 Euros were raised” he states.

“Our friendship was forged in my years working at El Cucurucho. There is a very funny anecdote from that period. Back then, on the booking list, almost all the tables were reserved under the name of a Marquis from somewhere. And as a joke, whenever he called, he would book his table under the name of the “Marquis of Jimena”, which we found really funny when seeing the faces of the others. Especially because many of the people who worked there were from Jimena” he explains. “An exceptional man and someone who loved the area” he finishes. Our beloved “Marquis of Jimena.”

Sporting biography

A native of Santander, Marcos Alonso began his career at Racing, the club from his city which he made it to the First Division. He played for Atlético de Madrid, in two periods (1979-1982 and 1987-1989), to end up becoming a real legend of the Camp Nou stadium after a very glorious period there between 1982 and 1989. He ended his career at CD Logroñés and a final year, once again at Racing de Santander, where he would hang up his boots at the end of the 1991 season. As a player he managed to win a League, a Copa del Rey, a Spanish Super Cup and two League Cups with FC Barcelona. Also, in his time as a coach, he worked in the dugouts of: Rayo Vallecano, Racing, Sevilla, Atlético de Madrid, Real Zaragoza, Real Valladolid, Malaga and

Granada 74. His son, Marcos Alonso Jr., is currently part of the squad at FC Barcelona where he arrived last season from the London club Chelsea. We wish to send our deepest sympathies to all his family and friends, for the loss of someone so beloved and so linked to this publisher and the entire resort of Sotogrande..

Manuel Gil