On 3 August 2006, Sánchez signed a two-year contract with Super League Greece giants Panathinaikos FC for about €1.5 million per year. He appeared sparingly throughout a sole season and, in October 2007, returned to Spain, penning a one-year deal with Segunda División club Elche CF; he had spent the previous weeks training on his own. At the end of the campaign, Sánchez renewed his link for a further year, only to back down immediately on his original decision, leaving in July 2008. He retired at the age of 32 due to several injury problems, with nearly 500 competitive matches to his credit. International career Sánchez made his debut with Spain in a friendly with Germany on 16 August 2000 (4–1 away loss), and went on to receive eight caps in a four-year span. He had previously participated in the 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, in which the nation emerged victorious 1–0 against Greece. Coaching career On 22 December 2010, Sánchez was named Getafe CF's assistant manager, replacing former Real Madrid teammate Juan Esnáider as sidekick of Míchel – another player he shared teams at the club with. On 9 April 2015 he returned to Deportivo, taking over from the sacked Víctor Fernández. Sánchez was dismissed after the team finished 15th in his only full season, winning only twice in his last 22 games including an 0–8 home defeat to Barcelona. On 23 June 2016, he succeeded Marco Silva at the helm of Olympiacos FC. Less than two months later, after being ousted from the Champions League by Hapoel Be'er Sheva FC, he was relieved of his duties. On 12 November 2016, Sánchez replaced the fired Gus Poyet at Real Betis. The following 9 May, he was himself relieved of his duties. On 15 April 2019, after almost two years without a club, Sánchez took the place of the dismissed Juan Muñiz at Málaga CF. In early January 2020, with the team still in the second tier, the board of directors decided to suspend him indefinitely after a sex video featuring him leaked to the internet; shortly after, he was sacked. Managerial statistics Honours Real Madrid La Liga: 1996–97 Supercopa de España: 1997 UEFA Champions League: 1997–98 Deportivo La Liga: 1999–2000 Copa del Rey: 2001–02 Supercopa de España: 2000, 2002 Spain U21 UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 1998 References External links 1976 births Living people Spanish footballers Footballers from Madrid Association