lit a candle 2h agoMy dad had this grainy VHS of the 1988 UEFA Cup final and he'd play it every few years, always pointing at Pineda. I never saw him play live, just that tape, but 73 goals for Espanyol stuck in my head for no reason. Strange to feel sad about a guy I only know from a tape in my dad's drawer.
Their story
Michel Pineda was a French-born Spanish footballer, a striker who became one of the best loved players of RCD Espanyol in the 1980s and was part of the side that reached the 1988 UEFA Cup final. Michel Pineda Ozaeta was born on 9 June 1964 in Gien, in the Loiret…
Michel Pineda was a French-born Spanish footballer, a striker who became one of the best loved players of RCD Espanyol in the 1980s and was part of the side that reached the 1988 UEFA Cup final.
Michel Pineda Ozaeta was born on 9 June 1964 in Gien, in the Loiret department of France, the son of Spanish immigrants. He began his professional career with AJ Auxerre, making a handful of Ligue 1 appearances between 1982 and 1984.
In the summer of 1984 he moved to his parents' homeland and signed for Espanyol in Barcelona. He made his La Liga debut on 1 September 1984 in a goalless home draw with Atletico Madrid, and scored 14 goals in his first season. In 1986 to 1987 he hit 13 league goals as Espanyol finished third. That season the league used a second phase, so each team played 44 matches, and Pineda was a regular in a forward line that gave Espanyol one of its best campaigns in decades. The following season, under coach Javier Clemente, he was part of the team that reached the final of the UEFA Cup, the club's greatest European run. In six seasons at Sarria he played 233 matches and scored 73 goals for Espanyol, according to the club. In 1986 he also won the UEFA European Under 21 Championship with Spain.
After Espanyol were relegated in 1989 he returned to France with Sporting Toulon Var. In January 1993 he joined Racing de Santander, scoring seven goals in ten games to help the Cantabrian club win promotion, including the only goal of the promotion decider in Barcelona, which sent his old club Espanyol down. He finished his career with a season each at UE Lleida and Deportivo Alaves, retiring in 1996 at the age of 32. Across his La Liga career he made 201 appearances and scored 49 goals.
Espanyol announced his death on 29 October 2026, at the age of 62. No cause of death was given. Mundo Deportivo described him as one of the players most loved by the Espanyol supporters, and the club's statement remembered him as a member of the team that came so close to European glory in 1988.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), RCD Espanyol announcement, Mundo Deportivo and Ara reports. Wikipedia ↗
Photos
1Michel Pineda during his time at Espanyol
by People Forever
that run to the final meant a lot to people who weren't even born yet, good on your dad for keeping it