Evergreen Joaquin
From his upbringing in his native El Puerto de Santa Maria, Joaquin possessed a thirst for football. He lived, breathed and slept the beautiful game from early childhood: football-mad with a dream to reach the top. Born into a family of four brothers and sisters, his life was centred around two Fs: familia and futbol. It was his uncle, known as “El Chino”, who noticed his skills and encouraged his talented nephew to focus on honing his footballing skills.
His professional career began in the 1999-2000 season with the academy team at Real Betis. What the club already knew quickly became evident to the wider world – they had a superstar in the making.
Betis were making rapid progress in line with their young starlet, who matured and improved in harmony with his team. Before long,
