Birthdays

Spanish Cumpleanos: Hector Cuper

Every weekday Goal.com celebrates the birthday of past and present La Liga-related figures. Today includes all those born on November 16...

Nov 16, 2009 7:00:12 AM

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Hector Cuper (Foto Grazia Neri)

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1931: Jose Casas: Known as Pepin, this former goalkeeper played for Las Palmas and Real Betis. He also won two caps for Spain and was in the squad that captured the 1964 European Championships.

1955: Hector Cuper: Former Argentine centre-back Cuper came to Spain in 1997 to coach Mallorca. He lead them to a Copa del Rey final and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, both of which they lost but took Mallorca to third in the Primera Liga in 1998/99 before moving to Valencia, where he lost two consecutive UEFA Champions League finals in 2000 against Real Madrid and 2001 against Bayern Munich. After spells at Inter and in international football with Georgia, Cuper took over at Greek side Aris Thessaloniki.

1956: Gerardo Miranda: Though he was born in Africa, Gerardo represented Spain at international level winning nine international caps for La Furia Roja. At club level, the defender played for five years with Las Palmas before switching to Barcelona, where he won every piece of domestic silverware and a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup crown in 1982. After seven seasons and 141 league appearances, Gerardo returned to Las Palmas, where he retired in 1990.

1971: Mustapha Hadji: Currently plying his trade in Luxembourg, this talented Moroccan footballer had two stints in the Primera Liga, firstly with Deportivo La Coruna from 1997-1999, where he played 31 league games before moving to then Premier League side Coventry City. He later returned to Spanish football in 2004, playing 16 times for Espanyol before leaving to play in the United Arab Emirates. He has played 54 times for Morocco.

1975: Cesar Belli: This Brazilian defender played for a host of clubs in South America and France and won 8 caps for Brazil before later joining Tenerife in 2004 for a two year spell in the Spanish Segunda Division. He then left to return to his native Brazil.

1977: Fabian Eller: This centre-half played most of his career in his native Brazil but had a spell in Turkey and Qatar and spent one season in La Liga with Atletico Madrid in 2007/08, playing 26 league games before returning to Brazilian football. He was capped once by Brazil in 2005.

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