The dawn of a new era is upon the Cadiz CF, so now seems like a perfect time to look back at the best 10 players in the history of the Andalusia club.

Cadiz Club de Futbol is one of the most celebrated football clubs based in Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain. During the late 1980s, the club was popularly called “The Yellow Submarine”, due to its capacity of “coming afloat” every year at the end of each season and remaining in the top division, despite having been “sunk” during most of the campaign. 

Between 1929 and 1977, Cadiz played in either the second or third tier of Spanish football. In 1977, Cadiz achieved promotion to La Liga for the first time in the club’s history. Since then, Cádiz has played thirteen seasons in total in the first tier, as well as spending several in the second level. The year 1981 was one of the most remarkable seasons for Cadiz as they won its first Ramon De Carranza Trophy and since then, they have produced some astonishing players who have left their mark in world football. 

Legendary players like Magico Gonzalez, Kiko Narvaez, Diego Tristan, and more have played in Cadiz CF in the past. In the recent few seasons, Cadiz CF has put up phenomenal performances and its players and managers have won numerous awards for the same. 

Let’s have a look at the top 10 greatest players of all time at Cadiz.

10. Enrique Ortiz

Ortiz is one of the most prolific players who spent most of his career at Cadiz, representing the club in the three great levels of Spanish football. Enrique played his entire professional career until he was 27 years old in the third division (one season also in the fourth with CP Cacereno, where he scored 38 goals to help his team achieve promotion), going on to Cadiz FC in 2004. 

After a slow start, he emerged amazingly well as a player and became a very important attacking unit for the team, scoring twice in 28 games in his second year. Ortiz made his debut at the top level in 2005 and continued playing for Cadiz till 2012 where he appeared in 242 games and netted 40 goals. 

9. Anthony Lozano

Most popularly known as “Choco Lozano”, Anthony is a Honduran footballer who plays as a forward player. He is one of the most complete players at Cadiz.

 He is versatile, consistent, furious, and a player with some amazing skills and techniques which he could showcase on the pitch. Lazona experienced his best La Liga game against Villareal where he scored a mesmerizing hattrick and helped his team draw the match. It was truly an unbelievable performance which he delivered at the most crucial time for Cadiz. 

8. Alex Fernandez

Alex is a classic winger and currently plays for Cadiz. In 2019, Fernandez was his team’s top goalscorer with a total of 11 goals. In the 2019-20 Segunda division, he netted 13 goals during the season from 41 appearances, in a return to the top flight as runners-up. 

One of the happiest moments in Alex’s career was when his team enjoyed a thrilling 1-0 win over Real Madrid, which completely shook the “merengues” (the Real Madrid fans). It was one of the most celebrated days in Cadiz’s history. 

7. Carmelo Navarro

Carmelo Navarro, better known in his day as ‘the Beckenbauer of the Bay,’ was one of the most renowned players in the history of football. He played center defense and spent most of his career at Cadiz FC.

He joined Cádiz in 1987 and went on to play for the club for seven seasons. Navarro’s first season saw Cádiz achieve the highest league placing in their history, as they finished 12th. After that, they were constantly flirting with relegation but survived until finally being relegated in 1992-93. The veteran made staggering 428 appearances throughout his career where he delivered a lot of match-winning performances for his respective clubs. 

6. Jeremias Ledesma

The 27-year-old, nicknamed Conan, has appeared in 12 La Liga matches in the 2020-21 season and made a string of eye-catching saves for Cadiz. 

Ledesma is famous for his shot-stopping ability and fantastic reflexes which creates a lot of pressure on the opposition. His long booming kicks upfield contribute towards Cadiz’s direct approach and his distribution has been another strength that fits him quite perfectly in the club. Ledesma’s clean sheets ratio is currently at 17% which means he has kept a clean sheet in 2 out of 12 matches that he has played in. 

5. Jose Mejias

José Manuel ‘Pepe’ Mejías López, born 21 January 1959, is a Spanish veteran footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Mejias was a player of class and integrity, famously known for his flamboyant style of playing the game of football.

His career was closely associated with Cádiz, for which he appeared in almost 300 games at both major levels of Spanish football combined, scoring 66 goals. 

In La Liga, Jose also represented Zaragoza, Murcia, and Rayo Vallecano, totaling 263 matches and 42 goals in the competition over ten seasons.

4. Alfredo Ortuno

Ortuno is one of the most experienced players in Spain’s history. The striker has spent a lengthy career in Spain’s first and second divisions. 

Since making his professional debut with Albacete in the Spanish second division at just 17 years old in 2008, he has netted 41 goals in 141 matches at that level. That included stops with Albacete, Lorca FC, Girona, Las Palmas, Zaragoza, Mallorca, and Cádiz in the second division and a stint with Granada in La Liga.  The 2016-17 La Liga season was a year to be remembered for him as he netted 17 goals in 40 games for Cadiz FC. 

3. Manuel Vallejo

The Spanish-born striker is one of the emerging players in the world of football. The 24-year-old has got some amazing skills who plays for Valencia FC as either a winger or a forward. 

Manuel came up through the youth ranks at Cadiz to break into the first team where he had a great season in the Spanish second tier where he smacked eight goals which earned him a place in the Spain U21 squad that was crowned European winners in 2019. Vallejo is a versatile player that can occupy all positions in attack, a promising young gun who can do wonders in the coming years. 

2. Diego Tristan

Aptly known as “The Lizard” for his slippery style of play, Diego was an integral part of all the clubs he has played for. He was considered among the best players in Europe displaying a vast array of skills: dribble, shot accuracy, aerial ability, and off-the-ball movements. 

Throughout his career, he played for a lot of clubs including Cadiz where he received a lot of love and appreciation from his fans and associates. Over 8 La Liga seasons, Tristan featured in 227 matches and netted 95 goals for different clubs. 

1. Jorge Alberto Gonzalez

Popularly known as “El Magico”, is a Salvadoran veteran footballer who mainly played as a classy forward. Alberto spent an 8-year long relationship with Cadiz before returning to El Salvador in 1992. His spell coexisted with the most successful period in the club’s history, as he managed to win a lot of precious games for his team and even reached the semi-finals of Copa Del Rey in 1990. 

Salvador was a special talent with great game sense and mind-bending skills. He was the most respected and the most successful player in the club’s history.  One of his most remarkable seasons was 1983-84 where he managed to score 14 astonishing goals in La Liga. The magician has made more than 200 appearances for Cadiz and is still remembered as a great personality in the hearts of his fans. 

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