Manuel Negrete (born May 15, 1959) is a well known former football (soccer) player from Mexico.

Negrete became a professional football player in 1980. His style of play gave him instant recognition among Mexican soccer fans, with Negrete becoming a household name quickly.

Negrete did not participate at the 1982 World Cup, held in Spain, as the Mexican national team did not qualify for that tournament.

Determined to post a much better result at the 1986 World Cup, for which Mexico automatically qualified because it was the event's host country, the Mexican Association Football Federation chose a very exclusive group of players to represent their country, including Negrete as a member of the national team. This gave Negrete the opportunity of having Hugo Sanchez as a teammate.

Mexico achieved what has been arguably their best result at any World Cup in history during that tournament, reaching the quarterfinals for the first, and only, time. Negrete also got to write his name in World Cup history: He participated in five games and scored only one goal, but that goal has been described as "one of the most beautiful (goals) in World Cup history" by many Mexican soccer writers and experts.

Negrete went on playing as a soccer player in the Mexican Federation, and he reached the Bundesliga in Germany. Problems with alcohol, however, led to his retirement from football before 1990.

Negrete has led a quieter life in Mexico since he retired from playing. He currently works as technical director (coach) of the club team Atlante.

External Links

Fussballdaten.de's take on Negrete, in German