Another Segunda B record holder - Santi Castillejo, the all-time top goalscorer (8th December, 2017)
Years have passed but his record remains. And it will remain for many more years.
Santi Castillejo took his first steps in senior football in the ranks of Tudelano, but would be soon recruited by Osasuna to play for the Promesas for the 1991-92 season. In his first year in Segunda B and only 20 years old, the Valtierra native would score ten goals. He would double that tally the following season, scoring 20 goals with Osasuna's B team, and earned himself a debut with the first team in La Liga. It was to be his only appearance for the first team that season - 17 minutes against Real Zaragoza in a 1-0 victory.
In the 1993-94 season Santi would alternate between the first and second teams, but - uncertain of the relevance of the role he had carved for himself at the club, he would go our on loan to Segunda B side Deportivo Alavés. He would, once again, show that he may be playing in the Segunda B but he was in a league of his own, scoring 21 goals and helping the Basque side earn promotion to the Segunda in 1995.
Santi returned to Pamplona, with Osasuna now in the second tier. However, he didn't get a clear first team opportunity, and four goals in 22 games later he would once again drop down to the Segunda B, this time to Numancia. And, once again, he would help the side earn promotion to the Segunda, scoring 19 goals in the 1996-97 season. And, once again, the 1997-98 season came and went, with Santi playing a paltry 831 minutes of Segunda football.
And so, once again, he would leave in search for the next Segunda B club - this time it was Castellón's turn. He would play two seasons at the club, scoring 15 and 11 goals respectively, but Castellón were going through a high turnover of managers - five during those two seasons alone - and the promotion playoffs were a distant dream that never came to pass.
But the déjà vu part of his career never went away. In 2000 he drew the attention of a rising Gimnàstic at that time, and once again helped his team gain promotion to the Segunda with 21 goals to his name. And once again, he was a secondary player during the 2001-02 campaign, scoring just 2 goals as Nàstic were immediately relegated back to the third tier. This time, however, he stayed, and added seven goals to his Segunda B tally despite not being a first team player.
But his time in the Segunda B had a happy ending - two years at Conquense in the Segunda B saw him score 16 and 17 goals respectively, with a promotion playoff at the end of the second campaign - Conquese fell at the last hurdle by a solitary goal to Real Madrid Castilla in 2005. The 34-year-old would go on to play a final season in the Segunda B with Leganés, adding 9 more goals to his record.
He would spend two further seasons, one at Reus Deportiu in the Tercera and another at Vilafranca in the fifth tier, before hanging up his boots in 2008.
His tally of 172 goals in the third tier remains a Segunda B record. And so does his 29 braces in the league. But behind that is the story of a striker who has never received a red card, or indeed completed a full cycle of yellow cards - in other words, he has never been suspended. The story of a striker who never made much noise, or bullied defenders, or played mental games. The story of a striker who was intuitive, who read the game incredibly well, and was opportunistic.
The story of a striker who Segunda B sides fought for. Year-on-year.
Aftermath
He has since started a managerial career with mixed success - his first challenge was with Reus Deportiu, initially being appointed as an assistant in 2008 and then as first team coach in 2009. He would win promotion from the Tercera to the Segunda B in 2011 - in just his second season - and kept them in the third tier till 2013. His good work allowed him to return to Nàstic, this time as a coach, but with less luck - he was dismissed after 12 games. His bad luck continued the following season - he took charge of Llagostera in the Segunda at the start of the 2014-15, but was sacked after just nine games.
He would later take charge of Segunda B side Olot towards the end of the 2015-16 campaign, who were in the relegation zone and in desperate sporting trouble. And although he managed to get an initial reaction for the team, he could not avoid relegation to the Tercera.
Since then, he has been manager of Tercera outfit Ascó.
Santi Castillejo took his first steps in senior football in the ranks of Tudelano, but would be soon recruited by Osasuna to play for the Promesas for the 1991-92 season. In his first year in Segunda B and only 20 years old, the Valtierra native would score ten goals. He would double that tally the following season, scoring 20 goals with Osasuna's B team, and earned himself a debut with the first team in La Liga. It was to be his only appearance for the first team that season - 17 minutes against Real Zaragoza in a 1-0 victory.
In the 1993-94 season Santi would alternate between the first and second teams, but - uncertain of the relevance of the role he had carved for himself at the club, he would go our on loan to Segunda B side Deportivo Alavés. He would, once again, show that he may be playing in the Segunda B but he was in a league of his own, scoring 21 goals and helping the Basque side earn promotion to the Segunda in 1995.
Santi returned to Pamplona, with Osasuna now in the second tier. However, he didn't get a clear first team opportunity, and four goals in 22 games later he would once again drop down to the Segunda B, this time to Numancia. And, once again, he would help the side earn promotion to the Segunda, scoring 19 goals in the 1996-97 season. And, once again, the 1997-98 season came and went, with Santi playing a paltry 831 minutes of Segunda football.
And so, once again, he would leave in search for the next Segunda B club - this time it was Castellón's turn. He would play two seasons at the club, scoring 15 and 11 goals respectively, but Castellón were going through a high turnover of managers - five during those two seasons alone - and the promotion playoffs were a distant dream that never came to pass.
But the déjà vu part of his career never went away. In 2000 he drew the attention of a rising Gimnàstic at that time, and once again helped his team gain promotion to the Segunda with 21 goals to his name. And once again, he was a secondary player during the 2001-02 campaign, scoring just 2 goals as Nàstic were immediately relegated back to the third tier. This time, however, he stayed, and added seven goals to his Segunda B tally despite not being a first team player.
But his time in the Segunda B had a happy ending - two years at Conquense in the Segunda B saw him score 16 and 17 goals respectively, with a promotion playoff at the end of the second campaign - Conquese fell at the last hurdle by a solitary goal to Real Madrid Castilla in 2005. The 34-year-old would go on to play a final season in the Segunda B with Leganés, adding 9 more goals to his record.
He would spend two further seasons, one at Reus Deportiu in the Tercera and another at Vilafranca in the fifth tier, before hanging up his boots in 2008.
His tally of 172 goals in the third tier remains a Segunda B record. And so does his 29 braces in the league. But behind that is the story of a striker who has never received a red card, or indeed completed a full cycle of yellow cards - in other words, he has never been suspended. The story of a striker who never made much noise, or bullied defenders, or played mental games. The story of a striker who was intuitive, who read the game incredibly well, and was opportunistic.
The story of a striker who Segunda B sides fought for. Year-on-year.
Aftermath
He has since started a managerial career with mixed success - his first challenge was with Reus Deportiu, initially being appointed as an assistant in 2008 and then as first team coach in 2009. He would win promotion from the Tercera to the Segunda B in 2011 - in just his second season - and kept them in the third tier till 2013. His good work allowed him to return to Nàstic, this time as a coach, but with less luck - he was dismissed after 12 games. His bad luck continued the following season - he took charge of Llagostera in the Segunda at the start of the 2014-15, but was sacked after just nine games.
He would later take charge of Segunda B side Olot towards the end of the 2015-16 campaign, who were in the relegation zone and in desperate sporting trouble. And although he managed to get an initial reaction for the team, he could not avoid relegation to the Tercera.
Since then, he has been manager of Tercera outfit Ascó.
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