Carlos Aguilera MartÃÂn (born 22 May 1969) is a Spanish retired professional footballer.
Having started his career as a right winger, he finished it at his first club Atlético Madrid as a right-back. In a career that spanned almost two decades, he appeared in 375 La Liga games and scored 21 goals.
Aguilera represented Spain at the 1998 World Cup.
Born in Madrid, Aguilera began his career at Atlético Madrid, and his debut for the first team came on 26 March 1988 against Sporting de Gijón, after having started the season at the reserve side. He played for the club until 1993, winning consecutive Copa del Rey trophies (1991 and 1992) in the process.
Aguilera then signed with CD Tenerife, staying three years at the Estadio Heliodoro RodrÃÂguez López. Incidentally, his best season in La Liga, 1995âÂÂ96 â with five goals in 39 matches as the islanders qualified for the UEFA Cupâ came as Atlético reached an historical double; previously, on 8 December 1993, he had scored his first UEFA Cup goal in the 2âÂÂ1 home win for Tenerife against Juventus FC in the third round, lost 4âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
In summer 1996, Aguilera returned to his first team, remaining with them even after a 2000 relegation and again putting up strong numbers over two Segunda División campaigns, featuring in 78 games and scoring 14 goals. Ahead of 2003âÂÂ04, while agreeing to a new 12-month contract, he even accepted to take a pay cut.
Aguilera retired in 2005, aged 36. He returned to Atlético in directorial capacities six years later; in October 2017, he was told his services as youth system coordinator were no longer required.
Aguilera's form during his return to Atlético led to a selection for the Spain national team, his debut coming on 24 September 1997 in a 2âÂÂ1 away victory over Slovakia in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He was included in the squad for the final stages in France, starting against Paraguay (0âÂÂ0) and Bulgaria (6âÂÂ1 win) in a group-stage elimination.
Aguilera totalled seven caps in one year.
Atlético Madrid