Héctor Rial

José Héctor Rial Laguía (14 October 1928 – 24 February 1991) was a footballer who played as a forward for Real Madrid between 1954 and 1961, and was part of the team that won five consecutive European Cups. He played professional football in Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Spain, France and Chile. He was born and raised in Argentina, but represented the Spain national team on five occasions.

Rial started playing professional football in 1947 with San Lorenzo de Almagro in the Primera Division Argentina. In July 1949, he moved to Colombia to play for Independiente Santa Fe. After two seasons with the club, he moved to Uruguay to join Nacional where he was part of the championship-winning side of 1952.

In 1954 Rial joined Spanish giants Real Madrid, where he played for seven years, amassing ten major titles with the team. In his last season playing for the club, mostly as a substitute, he was loaned to play for Unión Española in Chile for five months.

In 1961, Rial left Madrid to join Espanyol in Barcelona, but he left the club after a disappointing season, where the club finished 13th of the 16 teams in La Liga.

Rial's final season was the 1962-63 campaign with the French club Olympique de Marseille, which finished at the bottom of the league, and he retired at the end of the season.

Honours

 * Nacional
 * Primera División Uruguaya: 1952


 * Real Madrid
 * European Cup: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960
 * Intercontinental Cup: 1960
 * Latin Cup: 1955, 1957
 * Spanish League Championship: 1955, 1957, 1958, 1961