Juan Carlos Valerón
Encyclopedia
Juan Carlos Valerón Santana (born 17 June 1975 in Arguineguín
, Gran Canaria
) is a Spanish
footballer who plays for Deportivo de La Coruña
as an attacking midfielder.
Valerón is known for his technical abilities, especially passing skills and ball control. He also had many injuries during his professional career.
Valerón represented Spain
in one World Cup
and two European Championships
, gaining nearly 50 caps
.
, but switched to the Balearic Islands
in 1997–98, representing RCD Mallorca
and making his La Liga
debut on 31 August 1997, playing 10 minutes in a 2–1 home win over Valencia CF
. He was an instrumental figure in the side's UEFA Cup qualification as fifth, as it also reached the Spanish Cup
final, lost to eventual league winners FC Barcelona
.
In the next two years, Valerón played with Atlético de Madrid where he was an undisputed starter but, following the club's relegation in 1999–2000, joined Deportivo de La Coruña
, sharing club and position with equally talented Brazil
ian Djalminha
. He gradually would become first-choice, signing a contract to eventually see off the remainder of his career with the Galicians in February 2004.
Since January 2006, however, Valerón also had a bad run with injuries. He suffered a knee
injury which relapsed in August and early 2007 (with him only managing two league appearances in the process), leading to another surgery. Consequently he did not reappear until midway through 2007–08.
On 27 January 2008, Valerón returned to the bench (the first callup in 133 days) for Deportivo's game against Real Valladolid
- in a 3–1 home win, replacing Mexican
Andrés Guardado
for the final 15 minutes. In the 2008–09 season, aged 33, he eventually became an important first-team fixture again, both in domestic and European
fronts.
since November 18, 1998 (Italy
2 – Spain 2), Valerón appeared with the national side at UEFA Euro 2000, the 2002 FIFA World Cup
(where he netted in a 3–1 win over Slovenia
) and Euro 2004, scoring immediately after coming from the bench in a 1–0 victory over Russia
in the latter competition.
Spain U21
|-
|1994–95||Las Palmas B
||Tercera División
||25||7||-||-||-||-||25||7
|-
|1995–96||rowspan="2"|Las Palmas
||Segunda División B
||27||0||2||1||-||-||29||1
|-
|1996–97||Segunda División
||27||2||1||0||-||-||28||2
|-
|1997–98||Mallorca
||La Liga
||36||3||11||1||-||-||47||4
|-
|1998–99||rowspan="2"|Atlético Madrid||rowspan="2"|La Liga
||30||3|||5||0||5||0||40||3
|-
|1999–00||35||4||6||0||6||0||47||4
|-
|2000–01||rowspan="10"|Deportivo
||rowspan="10"|La Liga
||31||4||2||0|||8||0||41||4
|-
|2001–02||36||3||4||0||13||3||53||6
|-
|2002–03||23||2||1||0||5||0||29||2
|-
|2003–04||34||3||1||0||14||3||49||6
|-
|2004–05
||38||1||1||0||8||0||47||1
|-
|2005–06
||20||4||3||1||-||-||23||5
|-
|2006–07||2||0||1||0||-||-||3||0
|-
|2007–08||5||0||0||0||-||-||5||0
|-
|2008–09||22||0||2||0||8||0||32||0
|-
|2009–10
||24||1||2||0||-||-||26||1
413||37||42||3||67||6||522||46
413||37||42||3||67||6||522||46
|1998||1||0
|-
|1999||6||0
|-
|2000||7||0
|-
|2001||4||0
|-
|2002||9||2
|-
|2003||10||1
|-
|2004||8||2
|-
|2005||1||0
|-
!Total||46||5
|}
, his career was also curtailed by injuries.
Arguineguin
Arguineguín , also Arguinegín is one of the most populated towns along the south coast of Gran Canaria, Spain. A typical Canarian fishing village, it is home to many locals rather than being a tourist resort...
, Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands, with a population of 838,397 which constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago...
) is a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
footballer who plays for Deportivo de La Coruña
Deportivo de La Coruña
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in Segunda División...
as an attacking midfielder.
Valerón is known for his technical abilities, especially passing skills and ball control. He also had many injuries during his professional career.
Valerón represented Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
in one World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
and two European Championships
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
, gaining nearly 50 caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
.
Club career
Valerón started playing with hometown UD Las PalmasUD Las Palmas
Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, in the autonomous community of Canary Islands...
, but switched to the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
in 1997–98, representing RCD Mallorca
RCD Mallorca
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca is a Spanish football team based on Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, the team currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at Son Moix....
and making his La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
debut on 31 August 1997, playing 10 minutes in a 2–1 home win over Valencia CF
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
. He was an instrumental figure in the side's UEFA Cup qualification as fifth, as it also reached the Spanish Cup
Copa del Rey
The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
final, lost to eventual league winners FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
.
In the next two years, Valerón played with Atlético de Madrid where he was an undisputed starter but, following the club's relegation in 1999–2000, joined Deportivo de La Coruña
Deportivo de La Coruña
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in Segunda División...
, sharing club and position with equally talented Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian Djalminha
Djalminha
Djalma Feitosa Dias , aka Djalminha, is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.Blessed with superb skills but also a troublesome character he represented, among others, Flamengo and Deportivo de La Coruña, and was also a Brazil international.-Brazil:Son of former...
. He gradually would become first-choice, signing a contract to eventually see off the remainder of his career with the Galicians in February 2004.
Since January 2006, however, Valerón also had a bad run with injuries. He suffered a knee
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
injury which relapsed in August and early 2007 (with him only managing two league appearances in the process), leading to another surgery. Consequently he did not reappear until midway through 2007–08.
On 27 January 2008, Valerón returned to the bench (the first callup in 133 days) for Deportivo's game against Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Valladolid, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, from where the nickname Pucela is derived....
- in a 3–1 home win, replacing Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Andrés Guardado
Andrés Guardado
José Andrés Guardado Hernández is a Mexican footballer who plays for Deportivo de La Coruña in Spain and the Mexican national football team, as a left winger.-Atlas:...
for the final 15 minutes. In the 2008–09 season, aged 33, he eventually became an important first-team fixture again, both in domestic and European
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
fronts.
International career
A Spanish internationalSpain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
since November 18, 1998 (Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
2 – Spain 2), Valerón appeared with the national side at UEFA Euro 2000, the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
(where he netted in a 3–1 win over Slovenia
Slovenia national football team
The Slovenia national football team is the national football team of Slovenia and is controlled by the Football Association of Slovenia. The team played their first match in 1992 after the split of Yugoslavia in 1991....
) and Euro 2004, scoring immediately after coming from the bench in a 1–0 victory over Russia
Russia national football team
The Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...
in the latter competition.
International goals
Honours
Deportivo- Spanish CupCopa del ReyThe Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
: 2001–02 - Spanish SupercupSupercopa de EspañaThe Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey...
: 20002000 Supercopa de EspañaThe 2000 Supercopa de España was two-leg Spanish football matches played on 20 August and 27 August 2000. It contested by RCD Espanyol, who were Spanish Cup winners in 1999–00, and RC Deportivo, who won the 1999–00 Spanish League.-First leg:-Second leg:...
, 20022002 Supercopa de EspañaThe 2002 Supercopa de España was two-leg Spanish football matches played on 18 August and 25 August 2002. It contested by RCD de la Coruña, who were Spanish Cup winners in 2001–02, and Valencia CF, who won the 2001–02 Spanish League.-First leg:-Second leg:... - UEFA Intertoto CupUEFA Intertoto CupThe UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
: 2008
Spain U21
- UEFA European Under-21 Football ChampionshipUEFA European Under-21 Football ChampionshipThe European Under-21 Football Championship is a football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. It is held every two years. The competition has existed in its current form since 1978. It was preceded by the Under 23 Challenge Cup which ran from 1967 to 1970...
: 19981998 UEFA European Under-21 Football ChampionshipThe UEFA U-21 Championship 1998, which spanned two years , had 46 entrants. Before the quarter-finals stage, Romania were chosen as the hosts of the final stages, consisting of four matches in total....
Club
- (correct as of 5 April 2010)
|-
|1994–95||Las Palmas B
UD Las Palmas Atlético
Las Palmas Atlético is the reserve team of UD Las Palmas. It currently plays in Tercera División - Group 12.-Club names:*Unión Atlética Club de Fútbol - *Unión Deportiva Las Palmas Aficionado - ...
||Tercera División
Tercera División
Tercera División is the fourth level of the Spanish football league system. The top three are the Primera División, often referred to as "La Liga" in English, the Segunda División, and Segunda División B.-Current Format:...
||25||7||-||-||-||-||25||7
|-
|1995–96||rowspan="2"|Las Palmas
UD Las Palmas
Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, in the autonomous community of Canary Islands...
||Segunda División B
Segunda División B
Segunda División B is the third level of the Spanish football league system. It is administered by the RFEF. The top two levels are La Liga, also referred to as the Primera División, and the Segunda División. Immediately below Segunda División B is the Tercera Division...
||27||0||2||1||-||-||29||1
|-
|1996–97||Segunda División
Segunda División
The Segunda División is the lower tier of the two professional football leagues in Spain. From the season 2008-09 onwards, the name of the league is Liga Adelante.-History:...
||27||2||1||0||-||-||28||2
|-
|1997–98||Mallorca
RCD Mallorca
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca is a Spanish football team based on Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, the team currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at Son Moix....
||La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||36||3||11||1||-||-||47||4
|-
|1998–99||rowspan="2"|Atlético Madrid||rowspan="2"|La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||30||3|||5||0||5||0||40||3
|-
|1999–00||35||4||6||0||6||0||47||4
|-
|2000–01||rowspan="10"|Deportivo
Deportivo de La Coruña
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in Segunda División...
||rowspan="10"|La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||31||4||2||0|||8||0||41||4
|-
|2001–02||36||3||4||0||13||3||53||6
|-
|2002–03||23||2||1||0||5||0||29||2
|-
|2003–04||34||3||1||0||14||3||49||6
|-
|2004–05
2004–05 La Liga
2004–05 season was composed of the following clubs:* Albacete Balompié* Athletic Bilbao* Atlético Madrid* FC Barcelona* Real Betis* Deportivo de La Coruña* Espanyol* Getafe CF* Levante UD* Málaga CF* Real Mallorca* CD Numancia* CA Osasuna...
||38||1||1||0||8||0||47||1
|-
|2005–06
2005–06 La Liga
* Athletic Bilbao* Atlético Madrid* FC Barcelona* Betis* Cádiz CF* Celta de Vigo* Deportivo Alaves* Deportivo de La Coruña* Espanyol* Getafe CF* Málaga CF* RCD Mallorca* CA Osasuna* Racing de Santander* Real Madrid* Real Sociedad* Sevilla FC...
||20||4||3||1||-||-||23||5
|-
|2006–07||2||0||1||0||-||-||3||0
|-
|2007–08||5||0||0||0||-||-||5||0
|-
|2008–09||22||0||2||0||8||0||32||0
|-
|2009–10
2009–10 La Liga
- Personnel and sponsoring :- Before the start of the season :- During the season :-League table:||rowspan=1 style="background-color:#F9F9F9;"|||rowspan=1 style="background-color:#F9F9F9;"|...
||24||1||2||0||-||-||26||1
413||37||42||3||67||6||522||46
413||37||42||3||67||6||522||46
International
|-|1998||1||0
|-
|1999||6||0
|-
|2000||7||0
|-
|2001||4||0
|-
|2002||9||2
|-
|2003||10||1
|-
|2004||8||2
|-
|2005||1||0
|-
!Total||46||5
|}
Personal
Valerón's older brother, Miguel Ángel, is also a former footballer and a midfielder. Having represented Las Palmas and Mallorca BRCD Mallorca B
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca B, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Palma, Majorca, in the autonomous community of Balearic Islands. Founded in 1967, it is the reserve team of RCD Mallorca, and plays in Segunda División B – Group 3, holding home matches at Estadio Son Bibiloni, with a...
, his career was also curtailed by injuries.