Born in
Albacete,
Castilla–La Mancha, Santi began playing professionally with his hometown side
Albacete Balompié. He made his
La Liga debut at age 18, and immediately became an undisputed starter as they constantly managed to retain their top-flight status. Santi signed for
Atlético Madrid in the summer of 1995, being crowned league and
Copa del Rey champion in his
first season as part of a defensive line which also included youth graduates
Juan Manuel López and
Roberto Solozábal. He appeared in 37 league matches during the campaign. Following Atlético's
2000 relegation (he collected a career-worst 17
yellow cards), Santi gradually lost his importance in the team's plans. In
2004–05, after the signing of
Pablo Ibáñez – who also came from Albacete – he featured in no games at all in the first half of the season, and was subsequently allowed to leave on loan in January 2005 to his first club. The move was made permanent in June and he retired after two more years, with Albacete now in the
Segunda División. Santi eventually returned to Atlético Madrid in early February 2009, as assistant to newly-appointed
Abel Resino who had replaced
Javier Aguirre. He was a
caretaker manager for the fixture against
RCD Mallorca on 24 October, before the appointment of
Quique Sánchez Flores. ==International career==