Eugenio Leal Vargas (born 13 May 1954) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a midfielder.
He spent most of his 12-year professional career with Atlético Madrid, appearing in more than 230 competitive games and winning two La Liga championships.
In a derby against Real Madrid in 1979, Leal suffered a knee ligament injury following a challenge from Juan Sol from which he never fully recovered. He left the Colchoneros in June 1982 after only eight games in two years and, after a few months at CE Sabadell FC to help them prevent relegation from Segunda División, which eventually did not befell, he retired at the age of 29.[1]
Leal earned the first of his 13 caps for Spain on 16 April 1977, in a 0–1 away loss against Romania for the 1978 FIFA World Cupqualifiers.[6] Six months later, in the same phase and facing the same opponent, he scored in the 2–0 win in Madrid.[7]
Selected to the finals in Argentina by coach László Kubala, Leal featured in three games in an eventual group stage exit.[8]
^Pina, Nivardo (7 March 1977). "5–1: Goleada del Atlético al Elche" [5–1: Atlético rout of Elche]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2017.
^Rovira, Ramón (17 April 1977). "1–0: Mal la selección y mal el resultado" [1–0: Bad national team and bad result]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2017.
^ abRovira, Ramón (27 October 1977). "2–0: España sudó pero ganó bien" [2–0: Spain broke a sweat but won fairly]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2017.