Juan Manuel Ortiz Palazón, also known as Juanma^[1] (born 1 March 1982), is a Spanish footballer who plays for UD Almería on loan from Rangers in the Scottish Premier League, mainly as a right midfielder.

Football career[link]

Early years[link]

Born in in Guardamar del Segura, Alicante, Valencia, Ortiz was a graduate of Atlético de Madrid's youth system, where he played five first-team matches during 2003–04, three as a starter. He had previously made his first team debuts in the 2001–02 season, appearing in one second division game as the Colchoneros were promoted, and would spend the next three seasons on loan, at both CA Osasuna and Polideportivo Ejido (the latter in the second division).

Almería[link]

In 2007–08, Ortiz joined newly promoted UD Almería, where he was instrumental in helping the Andalusia outfit overachieve to a final 8th place in La Liga. He scored twice, namely in a 4–1 away win against neighbours Sevilla FC, on 19 April 2008,^[2] and continued to be regularly used in the following top flight campaigns, inclusively as an offensive right defender.

Ortiz played as both right and left back during 2010–11.^[1] He scored twice in the season's Copa del Rey, both in a 4–3 win at RCD Mallorca (8–6 on aggregate) for the round of 16, as Almería eventually reached the competition's semifinals for the first time ever,^[3] being nonetheless relegated after ranking 20th and last.

Rangers[link]

Ortiz signed for Scottish Premier League giants Rangers on 6 July 2011, on a three-year contract.^[1] On the 23rd, he made his first official start for the club, against Heart of Midlothian, struggling to make an impact and playing out of position in a 1–1 draw, the competitive debut for Ally McCoist as team manager.^[4]

On 26 July 2011, Ortiz played his first UEFA Champions League game for Rangers, replacing club captain David Weir in the 27th minute of a 0–1 home loss against Malmö FF. On 18 August, he scored his first official goal for the club, in the UEFA Europa League qualifier against NK Maribor.^[5]

On 30 January 2012, after a somewhat disappointing first half to his Rangers campaign, it was announced that Ortiz would rejoin Almería on loan until the end of the season.^[6] He scored thrice in his first three games, awarding his team nine points after netting against Córdoba CF (2–1, home), Girona FC (1–0, away) and Real Murcia (4–2, home).

References[link]

External links[link]

• Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile
• Futbolme profile (Spanish)
• Juan Manuel Ortiz career stats at Soccerbase

Manuel Ortiz Partida (born May 22, 1971 in Tijuana, Baja California) is a professional wrestler who is currently wrestling the independent circuit in Mexico, particularly in the Tijuana area. He is better known by his stage name Halloween but is also known in the United States as Ciclope, a character he portrayed in World Championship Wrestling.

Professional wrestling career[link]

Manuel Ortiz Partida, debut in the pros in 1990, spent his time in the Independent Circuit. He wrestled as "Halloween" for most of his career.^[1] In 1996, Ortiz joined WCW where he took the name "Ciclope."^[3] His biggest moment in wrestling was part of the feud between Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko. Malenko, who had been inactive for a few months prior, dressed up as Ciclope to win a Cruiserweight battle royale to determine the number one contendership to Chris Jericho's Cruiserweight Title. Jericho had been refusing to grant Malenko contendership, making the disguise necessary.^[3]

After his time there was over, he lost the Ciclope mask to Antifaz del Norte early in 1999.^[3] He quickly reverted back to his Halloween character but lost his mask again on December 24, 1999 in a match against Super Parka.^[4] He has wrestled in many United States promotions over the years including for USA Pro Wrestling, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and Luchamania. In 2002 he along with La Familia de Tijuana (a group consisting of himself, Damián 666, Nicho el Millonario, Rey Misterio, Sr. and their valet Lady Victoria. although Rey did not come for the tour) came to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in Mexico City. The trio won the National Trios title but Nicho had a falling out with management and La Familia soon left entirely.^[5] They continued to work for independent promoters until CMLL called them back in 2005 to wrestle against Negro Casas, Heavy Metal and Felino on a show celebrating Negro's 25 years of wrestling. Perro Aguayo, Jr. recruited him and Damián for his Los Perros del Mal group.^[6] However, Halloween suffered a leg injury and his role was minimalized. After Universo 2000 used the illegal martinete on Damián 666, Halloween challenged Univeso to a hair vs. hair match on the December 2 show. After losing the match and his hair, Halloween underwent knee surgery that put him out of action for several months after which he was released from CMLL. In 2009 Halloween joined Aguayo's Perros del Mal Producciones, where he reunited with Damián 666.^[7] In June 2010, Halloween became a major part of a storyline, where Los Perros del Mal invaded Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA).^[8] On June 18, 2011, at TripleManía XIX, Halloween, Damián 666 and X-Fly defeated Los Psycho Circus in a tournament final to become the first ever AAA World Trios Champions.^[9] On July 31 at Verano de Escándalo, Los Perros del Mal faced Los Psycho Circus in a steel cage match, where the last person left in the cage would lose either his hair or mask. The match ended with Psycho Clown escaping the cage, leaving X-Fly inside and forcing him to have his hair shaved off.^[10] On October 9 at Héroes Inmortales, Los Perros del Mal and Los Psycho Circus ended their year long rivalry, when Halloween, Damián 666 and Nicho el Millonario were defeated in a Masks vs. Hairs steel cage match and were all shaved bald.^[11] After a five month break from the rivalry, Los Perros del Mal lost the AAA World Trios Championship to Los Psycho Circus on March 11, 2012.^[12] The following day, Halloween, Damián 666 and X-Fly announced that they had quit Los Perros del Mal.^[13]

On March 13, 2012, Halloween, Bestia 666, Damián 666, Super Nova and X-Fly announced that they were forming La Familia de Tijuana, a group of independent wrestlers, much like Los Perros del Mal, with the exception that they were not looking to form their own promotion.^[14] On March 29, International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) was officially announced as La Familia de Tijuana's new home promotion.^[15] Afterwards, Halloween was the only member of La Familia de Tijuana, who kept appearing on AAA events. After initially teasing dissension with El Hijo del Perro Aguayo, Halloween reunited with Los Perros del Mal on April 1.^[16] On April 19, Halloween officially severed his ties with the rest of La Familia de Tijuana and returned to Los Perros del Mal.^[17]

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves

• La Calabaza (Crossface)^[1]
• Trick or Treat (Sitout scoop slam piledriver)^[1]

• Signature moves

• Diving splash
• Double underhook piledriver
• Powerbomb
• Senton
• Spear
• Spinning fireman's carry facebuster
• Spinning heel kick

• With Damián 666 (Mexico's Most Wanted)

• Finishing moves

• Montezuma's Revenge (Giant swing (Damián) / Running low-angle dropkick to the opponent's face (Halloween) combination)^[18]

• Signature moves

• The Aztec Pyramid (Double submission)^[18]
• Double inverted Death Valley driver^[18]
• Spike sitdown inverted powerbomb^[18]

• Managers

• Lady Victoria

• Entrance themes

• "Perros" by Cartel de Santa (used while a member of Los Perros del Mal)^[19]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Asistencia Asesoría y Administración

• AAA World Trios Championship (1 time) – with Damián 666 and X-Fly^[9]
• AAA Baja California Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• AAA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Extreme Tiger^[20]
• IWC Middleweight Championship (1 time)

• Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

• Mexican National Trios Championship (2 times) – with Damián 666 and Psicosis (1) and Damián 666 and Mr. Águila (1)^[5][6]

• Nueva Generacion Xtrema

• NGX World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Damián 666

• Perros del Mal Producciones

• Copa Perros del Mal Extremo (2011)^[21]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI ranked him # 89 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2006.^[22]

• Revolution Pro Wrestling

• Revolution Pro World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Damián 666^[18][23]

• World Wrestling Association

• WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1]

• World Wrestling Organization

• WWO Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Damián 666

• Xtreme Latin American Wrestling

• XLAW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Damián 666

• Xtreme Pro Wrestling

• XPW World Tag Team Championship (2 time) – with Damián 666^[18]

• Other titles:

• LAWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time)
• WWEA Extreme Championship (1 time)

Lucha de Apuesta record[link]

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

The Original Ciclope was Tugboat Taylor! with AAA IN Mexico. He lost a one on one match mask vs mask match against Tiniablas Jr. Tugboat wrestled for WWF, WCW, GWF, USWA, NWA, WING, AAA.

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

• AAA profile
• Profile at onlineworldofwrestling.com

Juan Manuel Fangio

Born	(1911-06-24)24 June 1911 Balcarce, Argentina
Died	17 July 1995(1995-07-17) (aged 84) Buenos Aires, Argentina
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Argentine
Active years	1950 – 1951, 1953 – 1958
Teams	Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Mercedes, Ferrari
Races	52 (51 starts)
Championships	5 (1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957)
Wins	24
Podiums	35
Career points	245 (277 9⁄14)[1]
Pole positions	29
Fastest laps	23
First race	1950 British Grand Prix
First win	1950 Monaco Grand Prix
Last win	1957 German Grand Prix
Last race	1958 French Grand Prix

Juan Manuel Fangio driving a Mercedes-Benz W196 in the 1986 Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nürburgring

Juan Manuel Fangio (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfandʒo]; June 24, 1911 – July 17, 1995), nicknamed El Chueco ("knock-kneed") or El Maestro ("The Master"), was a racing car driver from Argentina, who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing. He won five Formula One World Drivers' Championships — a record which stood for 46 years until bested by Michael Schumacher — with four different teams (Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati), a feat that has not been repeated.

A member of the Formula 1 Hall of Fame,^[2] he is regarded by many as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time^[3] and holds the highest winning percentage in Formula One, 47.06%.

Fangio is the only Argentine driver to have won the Argentine Grand Prix, having won it four times in his career.

Early life and racing[link]

Fangio was born on San Juan's day in 1911 in Balcarce, a city in Buenos Aires Province of (Argentina).^[4] His father Loreto, immigrated to Argentina from the small, central Italian town of Castiglione Messer Marino. His mother Erminia Dérano from Tornareccio.^{[citation needed]} Both parents are from the Chieti province, of the Abruzzo region.

He began his racing career in Argentina in 1934, driving a 1929 Ford Model A which he had rebuilt.^[5] During his time racing in Argentina, he drove Chevrolet cars and was Argentine National Champion in 1940 and 1941.^[5] He first came to Europe to race in 1948, funded by the Argentine Automobile Club and the Argentine government.^[5]

Formula One racing[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2011)

Fangio, unlike later Formula One drivers, started his racing career at a mature age and was the oldest driver in many of his races. During his career, drivers raced with almost no protective equipment. Fangio had no compunction about leaving a team, even after a successful year or even during a season, if he thought he would have a better chance with a better car. As was then common, several of his race results were shared with team mates after he took over their car during races when his own had technical problems. His rivals included Alberto Ascari, Giuseppe Farina and Stirling Moss.

Fangio's first entry into Formula One came in the 1948 French Grand Prix at Reims, where he started his Simca Gordini from 11th on the grid but retired. He did not drive in F1 again until the following year at Sanremo, but having upgraded to a Maserati 4CLT/48 sponsored by the Automobile Club of Argentina he dominated the event, winning both heats to take the aggregate win by almost a minute over Prince Bira. Fangio entered a further six F1 races in 1949, winning four of them against top-level opposition.

For the first Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1950 Fangio was taken on by the Alfa Romeo team alongside Farina and Luigi Fagioli. With competitive racing machinery following the Second World War still in short supply, the pre-war Alfettas proved dominant. Fangio won each of the three races he finished, but Farina's three wins and a fourth place allowed him to take the title. In 1950s non-championship races Fangio took a further four wins and two seconds from eight starts. Fangio won three more championship races for Alfa in 1951 in the Swiss, French and Spanish Grands Prix, and with the improved Ferraris taking points off his team mates, Fangio took the title in the final race, six points ahead of Ascari.

With the 1952 World Championship being run to Formula Two specifications, Alfa Romeo were unable to use their supercharged Alfettas and withdrew. As a result the defending champion found himself without a car for the first race of the championship and remained absent from F1 until June, when he drove the British BRM V16 in non-championship F1 races at Albi and Dundrod. Fangio had agreed to drive for Maserati in a non-championship race at Monza the day after the Dundrod race, but having missed a connecting flight he decided to drive through the night from Paris, arriving half an hour before the start. Badly fatigued, Fangio started the race from the back of the grid but lost control on the second lap, crashed into a grass bank, and was thrown out of the car as it flipped end over end. He was taken to hospital with multiple injuries, the most serious being a broken neck, and spent the rest of 1952 recovering in Argentina.

Back to full racing fitness, Fangio began 1953 by winning the Carrera Panamericana in a Lancia D24. Back in Europe he rejoined Maserati for the championship season, and against the dominant Ferraris led by Ascari he took a lucky win at Monza. Fangio qualified second with Bonetto seventh, and Fangio set fastest lap on his way to a 1.4-second victory over Nino Farina while Bonetto retired out of fuel. Along with that win, Fangio secured three second places to finish second in the Championship, and also came third first time out in the Targa Florio.

In 1954 Fangio raced for Maserati until Mercedes-Benz entered competition in mid-season. Winning eight out of twelve races (six out of eight in the championship) in that year, he continued to race with Mercedes—driving the W196 Monoposto—in 1955 in a team that included Stirling Moss. At the end of the second successful season (which was overshadowed by the 1955 Le Mans disaster in which more than 80 spectators were killed, an accident which happened right in front of and nearly killed him) Mercedes withdrew from racing and after 4 attempts, Fangio never raced at Le Mans again.

In 1956 Fangio moved to Ferrari, replacing Ascari, who had been killed in an accident, to win his fourth title. Enzo Ferrari and Fangio did not have a very warm relationship, despite their shared success. Fangio took over his team-mate's cars after his suffered mechanical problems in three races, the Argentine, Monaco and Italian Grands Prix. In each case the points were shared between the two drivers. At the season-ending Italian Grand Prix, Fangio's Ferrari team mate Peter Collins, who was in a position to win the World Championship with just 15 laps to go, handed over his car to Fangio. They shared the six points won for second place, giving Fangio the World title.

Saving the best until last[link]

In 1957 Fangio returned to Maserati, who were still using the same iconic 250F which Fangio had driven at the start of 1954. Fangio started the season with a hat-trick of wins in Argentina, Monaco and France, before retiring with engine problems in Britain. At the next race, the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring circuit, Fangio needed to extend his lead by six points to claim the title with two races to spare. From pole position Fangio dropped to third behind the Ferraris of Hawthorn and Collins but managed to get past both by the end of the third lap. Fangio had started with half-full tanks since he expected that he would need new tyres half-way through the race. In the event Fangio pitted on lap 13 with a 30-second lead, but a disastrous stop left him back in third place and 50 seconds behind Collins and Hawthorn. Fangio came into his own, setting one fastest lap after another, culminating in a record-breaking time on lap 20 a full eleven seconds faster than the best the Ferraris could do. On the penultimate lap Fangio got back past both Collins and Hawthorn, and held on to take the win by just over three seconds. With Musso finishing down in fourth place, Fangio claimed his fifth title. This performance is often regarded as the greatest drive in Formula One history, and it was to be Fangio's last win.

After his series of consecutive championships he retired in 1958, following the French Grand Prix. Such was the respect for Fangio, that during that final race, race leader Hawthorn had lapped Fangio and as Hawthorn was about to cross the line, he braked and allowed Fangio through so he could complete the 50-lap distance in his final race. He would cross the line over two minutes down on Hawthorn. He won 24 World Championship Grands Prix from 52 entries - a winning percentage of 47.06%, the best in the sport's history (Alberto Ascari, who is in second, holds a percentage of 40.63%).

Later life and death[link]

During the rest of his life after retiring from racing Fangio sold Mercedes-Benz cars, often driving his former race cars in demonstration laps. Even before he joined the Mercedes Formula One team, in the mid 1950s, Fangio had acquired the Argentine Mercedes concession. He was appointed President of Mercedes-Benz Argentina in 1974, and its Honorary President for Life in 1987.

Cuban rebels kidnapped him on February 23, 1958 while he was racing at the 1958 Cuban Grand Prix, but he was later released, and remained a good friend of his captors afterwards. The incident was dramatized in a 1999 Argentine film directed by Alberto Lecchi, Operación Fangio.^[7]

Following his retirement, Fangio was active in assembling automotive memorabila associated with his racing career. This led to the creation of the Museo Juan Manuel Fangio, which opened in Balcarce in 1986.^[8]

Fangio was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990. He returned to the spotlight in 1994, when he publicly opposed a new Province of Buenos Aires law denying driver's licences to those over 80 (which included Fangio). Denied a renewal of his card, Fangio reportedly challenged Traffic Bureau personnel to a race between Buenos Aires and seaside Mar del Plata, a 400 km (250 mi) distance, in two hours or less, following which an exception was made for the five-time champion.^[9]

Juan Manuel Fangio died in Buenos Aires in 1995, at the age of 84. He was buried in his home town of Balcarce in Argentina. His pall-bearers were his younger brother Ruben Renato ("Toto"), Moss, compatriot racers José Froilán González and Carlos Reutemann, Jackie Stewart, and the president of Mercedes-Benz Argentina.^[10]

Legacy[link]

Fangio statue in Puerto Madero, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The official Formula One website states of Fangio: "Many consider him to be the greatest driver of all time."^[12] Several highly successful later drivers, such as Jim Clark, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, have been compared with Fangio. However, it is acknowledged that such comparisons are not realistic, since the qualities required for success, the levels of competition, and the rules have changed over time.

His record of five World Championship titles stood for 45 years, until German driver Michael Schumacher took his sixth title in 2003. Schumacher said, "Fangio is on a level much higher than I see myself. What he did stands alone and what we have achieved is also unique. I have such respect for what he achieved. You can't take a personality like Fangio and compare him with what has happened today. There is not even the slightest comparison."^[13][14]

A statue of Fangio in Monaco.

In his home country of Argentina, Fangio is revered as one of the greatest sportsmen the nation has ever produced. Argentines often refer to him as El Maestro, el mejor,^[15][16] which loosely translates into The Teacher, the best one.

The first Michel Vaillant story was partly based on an imaginary conflict stirred up by fictional newspaper The New Indian on Fangio winning the World Championship at the Indy 500.

His nephew, Juan Manuel Fangio II, was also a successful racing driver.

Six statues of Fangio, sculpted by Catalan artist Joaquim Ros Sabaté, stand at race venues around the world: Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Montmeló, Spain; Nürburgring, Germany; Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, Germany; and Monza, Italy.

In 1986, an automobile museum was established in Balcarce, Fangio's birthplace, and named the Museo Juan Manuel Fangio (Juan Manuel Fangio Museum).

Argentina's former national oil and gas company, Repsol YPF, launched the "Fangio XXI" gas brand. In 2005, the Zonda 2005 C12 F was named after him because of his endorsement (the Zonda was originally intended to be named "Fangio F1," but was changed out of respect after his death). In 2007 Maserati created a special website to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his fifth and final world championship triumph.^[17]

Formula One World Championship results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

* Shared drive. ^† Car ran with streamlined, full-width bodywork.

Formula One records[link]

Fangio holds the following Formula One records:

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Juan Manuel Fangio

• Juan Manuel Fangio Website
• Maserati Celebrates Fangio
• Fangio the greatest racecar driver
• Juan Manuel Fangio Museum (Spanish)
• Amigos de Fangio (Spanish)
• Juan Manuel Fangio at the Internet Movie Database