Adrián Colunga

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Colunga and the second or maternal family name is Pérez.

Adrián Colunga Pérez (born 17 November 1984) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a striker.

Adrián Colunga

Colunga as a Recreativo player (2009)
Personal information
Full name	Adrián Colunga Pérez
Date of birth	(1984-11-17) 17 November 1984 (age 39)
Place of birth	Oviedo, Spain
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Covadonga
	Sporting Gijón
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2006	Sporting Gijón B	28	(9)
2002	→ Turón (loan)	8	(8)
2003	→ Marino (loan)	5	(0)
2003–2004	→ Ceares (loan)	25	(8)
2005–2006	→ Marino (loan)	14	(2)
2006	Soledad	16	(9)
2006–2007	Pájara Playas	37	(10)
2007–2008	Las Palmas	34	(13)
2008–2010	Recreativo	46	(11)
2010	→ Zaragoza (loan)	16	(7)
2010–2014	Getafe	82	(17)
2012	→ Sporting Gijón (loan)	17	(3)
2014–2015	Brighton & Hove Albion	17	(3)
2015	→ Granada (loan)	4	(0)
2016	Mallorca	8	(2)
2016–2017	Anorthosis	18	(1)
2017–2018	Goa	2	(1)
Total		377	(104)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He appeared in 152 La Liga matches over seven seasons, scoring a total of 36 goals for Recreativo, Zaragoza, Getafe, Sporting de Gijón and Granada. He added 54 games and 17 goals in the Segunda División, and also competed professionally in England, Cyprus and India.

Club career

Colunga was born in Oviedo, Asturias. After unsuccessfully emerging through Sporting de Gijón's youth system he made his professional debut on loan, in the Segunda División B with Marino de Luanco – also in his native region – going on to serve several others in the third tier and Tercera División while also spending the 2004–05 season for Sporting's reserves.

In January 2006, Colunga was definitely released by Gijón and, after a spell in the fourth division and another in the third, joined UD Las Palmas of the Segunda División. He scored 13 league goals (second-best in the squad) in the 2007–08 campaign for a Canary Islands side that was threatened with relegation until the last month of competition.^[1]

Colunga was then bought by Recreativo de Huelva in La Liga, in a four-year contract worth €2.7 million.^[2] In his debut for the team, on 31 August 2008, he netted the game's only goal in an away win against Andalusia neighbours Real Betis.^[3]

Alternating between starts and games from the bench in his first year, Colunga entered the club's history when he scored a penalty kick in a 4–1 loss at Deportivo de La Coruña on 21 December, his fourth consecutive game achieving the feat.^[4] Spanish football pundit Guillem Balagué compared the player, in his weekly report of first division encounters, to Valencia CF's David Villa;^[5] despite a first fruitful year individually, Recre ranked last.

On 23 January 2010, after experiencing personal problems in the new season at Recreativo, which included a confrontation with club fans,^[6] Colunga was loaned to Real Zaragoza of the top flight until June.^[7] He scored on his debut eight days later, a 3–1 away victory over CD Tenerife,^[8] and finished the campaign as the team's top scorer in only four months of play, with the Aragonese finally escaping relegation.^[9]

On 5 August 2010, Colunga was sold to Getafe CF as Kepa Blanco moved in the opposite direction.^[10] He was loaned to Sporting Gijón in January 2012,^[1] scoring three times in 13 starts during his short spell but suffering top-division relegation.

Colunga transferred to Brighton & Hove Albion on 25 August 2014 for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-year contract.^[11] He scored on his debut the following day, contributing to a 4–2 away defeat of Swindon Town in the second round of the League Cup.^[12] He added a further three in the English Championship before the close of the year, with away strikes against Bournemouth (3–2 loss),^[13] Norwich City (3–3)^[14] and Fulham (2–0).^[15]

Following the appointment of Chris Hughton as new manager, Colunga found first-team opportunities difficult and, in the very last day of the 2015 January transfer window, joined Granada CF on a loan deal lasting until the end of the season, with the option of a permanent transfer in June.^[16] However, after featuring rarely, he returned to Brighton and eventually had his contract terminated by mutual consent on 7 October.^[17]

On 2 September 2017, the 32-year-old Colunga switched to the Indian Super League with FC Goa^[18] after stints with RCD Mallorca and Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta FC.^[19] He made his debut on 16 December, scoring in the last minutes of a 5–1 victory against Delhi Dynamos FC.^[20]

Colunga's contract was terminated by mutual agreement on 25 January 2018, after he refused to play second-fiddle to compatriot Coro.^[21] Four days later, he announced his retirement.^[22]

Career statistics

Club	Season	League			Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Marino (loan)	2002–03[23]	Segunda División B	5	0	0	0	—		5	0
Ceares (loan)	2003–04[24]	Tercera División	25	7	0	0	—		25	7
Sporting Gijón B	2004–05[24]	Tercera División	27	6	0	0	—		27	6
Marino (loan)	2005–06[23]	Segunda División B	14	2	0	0	—		14	2
Pájara Playas (loan)	2006–07[23]	Segunda División B	37	10	0	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	2	39	12
Las Palmas	2007–08[23]	Segunda División	33	13	3	0	—		36	13
Recreativo	2008–09[23]	La Liga	33	9	1	0	—		34	9
	2009–10[23]	Segunda División	13	2	1	0	—		14	2
	Total		46	11	2	0	—		48	11
Zaragoza (loan)	2009–10[23]	La Liga	16	7	0	0	—		16	7
Getafe	2010–11[23]	La Liga	29	7	1	0	7[lower-alpha 2]	0	37	7
	2011–12[23]	La Liga	4	0	2	0	—		6	0
	2012–13[23]	La Liga	22	6	2	0	—		24	6
	2013–14[23]	La Liga	27	4	4	1	—		31	5
	Total		82	17	9	1	7	0	98	18
Sporting Gijón (loan)	2011–12[23]	La Liga	17	3	0	0	—		17	3
Brighton & Hove Albion	2014–15[25]	Championship	17	3	4	1	—		21	4
Granada (loan)	2014–15[23]	La Liga	4	0	0	0	—		4	0
Mallorca	2015–16[23]	Segunda División	7	2	0	0	—		7	2
	2016–17[23]	Segunda División	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	Total		8	2	0	0	—		8	2
Anorthosis	2016–17[26]	Cypriot First Division	18	1	2	1	—		20	2
Goa	2017–18[26]	Indian Super League	2	1	—		—		2	1
Career total			351	83	20	3	9	2	380	88

1. Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

References

1. "Adrián Colunga jugará en el Sporting hasta final de temporada" [Adrián Colunga will play in Sporting until end of the season] (in Spanish). Radiotelevisión del Principado de Asturias. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
2. "Adrián Colunga, segundo fichaje más caro de la historia del 'Recre', llega dispuesto a "no defraudar a nadie"" [Adrián Colunga, the second most expensive signing in Recre history, arrives willing to "not let anyone down"] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 17 July 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
3. "Colunga: "Fue el debut soñado"" [Colunga: "It was a dream debut"] (in Spanish). Huelva Información. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
4. "Deportivo La Coruña 4–1 Recreativo Huelva". ESPN Soccernet. 21 December 2008. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
5. "One to watch". Sky Sports. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
6. "Un grupo de aficionados increpa a Colunga y causa daños en su coche" [Group of fans insults Colunga and damages his car]. Marca (in Spanish). 18 January 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
7. "Zaragoza sign Colunga as Ayala leaves". ESPN Soccernet. 23 January 2010. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
8. "Gay inspires memorable triumph". ESPN Soccernet. 31 January 2010. Archived from the original on 4 May 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
9. Giménez, Paco (7 April 2016). "Dos ex que ya tumbaron al Real Zaragoza" [Two ex who have already downed Real Zaragoza]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 February 2021.
10. "Kepa Blanco nuevo delantero del Decano" [Kepa Blanco new Dean forward] (in Spanish). Recreativo Huelva. 5 August 2010. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
11. "Adrian Colunga: Brighton & Hove Albion sign Getafe striker". BBC Sport. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
12. Tighe, Adam (26 August 2014). "Report: Swindon 2 Albion 4". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
13. "AFC Bournemouth 3–2 Brighton & Hove Albion". BBC Sport. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
14. "Norwich City 3–3 Brighton & Hove Albion". BBC Sport. 22 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
15. "Fulham 0–2 Brighton & Hove Albion". BBC Sport. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
16. "Brighton: Adrian Colunga joins La Liga side Granada on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
17. "Adrian Colunga: Brighton release Spanish forward". BBC Sport. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
18. "FC Goa sign Edu Bedia, Adrian Colunga". The Indian Express. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
19. Bauzà, Jaume (1 September 2016). "Colunga se marcha harto de Vázquez: "Me ha defraudado"" [Colunga leaves tired of Vázquez: "He disappointed me"]. Diario de Mallorca (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 December 2017.
20. "ISL 2017: FC Goa pump in five past Delhi Dynamos, go top of the table". News18 India. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
21. Mergulhao, Marcus (25 January 2018). "ISL: FC Goa start hunt for new striker as they part ways with Adrian Colunga". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
22. "Adrián Colunga, ex de la UD y Pájara, se retira" [Adrián Colunga, formerly of UD and Pájara, retires]. La Provincia (in Spanish). 31 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
23. "Adrián Colunga: Adrián Colunga Pérez". BDFutbol. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
24. "Adrián Colunga: Adrián Colunga Pérez". BDFutbol. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
25. "Games played by Adrián Colunga in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
26. "Adrián Colunga". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 January 2018.

External links

• Adrián Colunga at BDFutbol
• Adrián Colunga – UEFA competition record (archive)